What to do with dead horses? Blow them up, unless its fire season
Wyoming's wildfire season has called attention to a little known Forest Service policy regarding animal carcass disposal following the death of two pack horses, who tumbled to their demise from a narrow backcountry trail in the Boulder Basin of Shoshone National Forest over the weekend.
Dead equines are a magnet for grizzly bears — a problem the service would typically resolve with a technique as incendiary as it is total: Obliterate them with explosives.
Because of the region's extreme fire hazard conditions, however, forest managers could not in good conscience take the risk.
"When you're using explosives, there's fire potential, and as hot and as dry as it is... that potential was unacceptable," Casey McQuiston, the forest's north district ranger, told the Star-Tribune.
The moment underscores a uniquely Western confluence of risk: Fire, grizzlies, and backcountry adventure.
The event comes as grizzly encounters have instilled fear in outdoorsmen, a threat that worsens with the fire-related loss of critical habitat and predator food sources. Earlier this year a man hiking with his dog encountered a grizzly in Shoshone's Clarks Fork District. The bear killed the dog; the man was unharmed.
The carcass disposal policy — which is applied for elk, moose and other creatures — dates to 1995, when the service released a manual titled "Obliterating Animal Carcasses with Explosives," a detailed detonation blueprint which explains how "Carcasses that have been partially obliterated will generally not show any trace of existence the next day."
"The whole reason behind blasting carcasses is to minimize the potential for conflict with grizzly bears," McQuiston said. He explained that the best the service could do was move the dead equines a distance from the Boulder Basin trail, which sees high traffic from sportsmen during the hunting season.
The moment is an opportunity for rangers to remind outdoor recreationists of bear safety basics. Hunters are encouraged to field dress kills as quickly as possible. Hikers are recommended to go in groups, make noise, and always carry bear spray, McQuiston emphasized.
Zakary Sonntag is an energy and environment reporter for the Star-Tribune. He can be reached at .
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