WILD HORSE COUNTRY

Many people who are fortunate and live in the State of Nevada

enjoy being able to see Wild Horses roam free on open rangeland.

Do you realize that 85 percent of Nevada is Open Range?

People who own property adjacent to Open Range land, should be

aware of the following:

If you do not want to have Wwild Horses or other grazing livestock enter your

property, you are required by law (NRS569.440 and NRS 569.431) to put up a

perimiter fence. The law prevents an owner who does not have a perimeter fence

from requesting that authorities capture and remove the livestock.

If you are in the process of buying land adjacent to Open Range land, it is the

legal responsibility of the realtor and/

or developer or builder to inform you

of the law. Additionally, the title

company should inform you of these

Nevada laws; both the seller and buyer

must by law sign a Disclosure

document stating you are aware that

the land is adjacent to open range and

a perimeter fence must be put up if you

do not want livestock, including Wild

Horses access to your land.

We realize that laws are constantly

being passed to regulate various areas

of our lives, but the disclosure

statement and two laws are intended to

protect the Wild Horses and livestock

that cannot speak for themselves.

Compliance with the laws will enable

humans, wildlife and livestock to share

this wonderful land we call Nevada.

For additional information call

775-720-5134.

Art for this poster created by Dayton Just Kids elementary school program students Printed by Wild Horse Advocates

Welcome to

Wild Horse Country

A few things you should know before buying or selling a home in Nevada

The following information and disclosure guide has been compiled courtesy of the Wild Horse Preservation League

to help with your transition into Wild Horse Country www.wildhorsepl.org (775) 720-5134

The complete disclosure guide can be found at the State of Nevada

Department of Business and Industry —Real Estate Division’s Web site www.red.state.nv.us/forms.622.pdf

NRS 113.065 Required disclosure upon sale of home or improved lot adjacent to open range; disclosure constitutes affirmative defense in action resulting from livestock entering property. 1.Before the purchaser of a home or improved lot that is adjacent to open range signs a sales agreement, the seller shall, by separate written document, disclose to the purchaser information regarding grazing on the open range. The written document must contain a statement with the following language: This property is adjacent to open range on which livestock are permitted to graze or roam. Un-less you construct a fence that will prevent livestock from entering this property, livestock may enter the property and you will not be entitled to collect damages because the livestock entered the property. Regardless of whether you construct a fence, it is unlawful to kill, maim or injure livestock that have entered this property. 2. The seller shall retain a copy of the disclosure document that has been signed by the purchaser acknowledging the date of receipt by the purchaser of the original document. 3. Compliance with this section by a seller constitutes an affirmative defense in any action brought against the seller by the purchaser based upon any damages allegedly suffered as the re-sult of livestock entering the property.

NRS 568.355 “Open range” defined. As used in NRS 568.360 and 568.370, unless the co n-text otherwise requires, “open range” means all unenclosed land outside of cities and towns upon which cattle, sheep or other domestic animals by custom, license, lease or permit are grazed or permitted to roam. (Added to NRS by 1983, 235) NRS 568.360 Duties of owners of domestic animals with respect to domestic animals upon high-way. 1. No person, firm or corporation owning, controlling or in possession of any domestic animal running on open range has the duty to keep the animal off any highway traversing or located on the open range, and no such person, firm or corporation is liable for damages to any property or for injury to any person caused by any collision between a motor vehicle and the animal occur-ring on such a highway. 2. Any person, firm or corporation negligently allowing a domestic animal to enter within a fenced right-of-way of a highway is liable for damages caused by a collision between a motor ve-hicle and the animal occurring on the highway. (Added to NRS by 1965, 644; A 1983, 235) NRS 568.370 Permitting dog to chase, worry, injure or kill domestic animals on open range or private property unlawful. 1. It is unlawful for any person to permit a dog to chase, worry, injure or kill cattle, sheep or other domestic animals on the open range or on private property. 2. Subsection 1 does not apply to the use of a dog to herd domestic animals at the direction or with the permission of the owner of those animals. 3. Any person who violates the provisions of subsection 1 is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Added to NRS by 1983, 235)

NRS 569.0075 “Estray” defined. “Estray” means any domesticated livestock or progeny of do-mesticated livestock showing signs of domestication, running at large upon public or private lands in the State of Nevada, whose owner is unknown in the section where the animal is found. (Added to NRS by 2003, 2152 )

NEVADA REVISED STATUTES

RANGE LAND DISCLOSURE

Nevada Law requires in NRS 113.065 that before the purchaser of a home or improved lot that is adjacent to open range signs a sales agreement, the seller shall by separate written document, disclose to the purchaser information regarding grazing on open range. Such disclosure must contain a statement with the following language:

Disclosure –This property is adjacent to “Open Range” This property is adjacent to open range on which livestock are permitted to graze or roam. Unless you construct a fence * that will prevent livestock from entering this property, livestock may enter the property and you will not be entitled to collect damages because livestock entered the property. Re-

gardless of whether you construct a fence, it is unlawful to kill, maim, injure, or feed livestock that

have entered this property.

I, the below signed purchaser, acknowledge that I have received this disclosure and understand it: Buyer(s) ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ Buyer(s) ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ Seller(s) ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ Seller(s) ______________________________________________________ Date: ________________ * Additional notes:

NRS 569.431 “Legal Fences” defined. As used in NRS 569.440 to 569.471, inclusive, “legal fence” means a fence with not less than four horizontal barriers, consisting of wires, boards, poles, or other material in common use in the neighborhood, with posts set not more than 20 feet apart. The lower barrier must not be more than 12 inches from the ground and the space between any two barriers must not be more than 12 inches and the height of top barrier must be at least 48 inches above the ground. Every post must be so set as to withstand a horizon-tal strain of 250 pounds at any point midway between the posts. (Added to NRS by 1991.1147)

NRS 569.0075 “Estray” defined. “Estray” means any domesticated livestock or progeny of domesticated live-stock showing signs of domestication running at large upon public or private lands in the State of Nevada whose owner is unknown in the section where the animal is found. (Added to NRS by 2003.2152) Additionally please see Seller’s Real Property Disclosure Form item number 2. Land / Foundation “G” which states “Is the property adjacent to “open range” land? If seller answers yes, FUR-THER DISCLOSURE IS REQUIRED under NRS 113.065.

Revised 2/22/07

Wild horse advocates to push information disclosure campaign

Karen Woodmansee Appeal Staff Writer, kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com March 5, 2007

Print Email Wild-horse advocates are gearing up to inform the public about Nevada's "fence-out" laws on range land and to put pressure local and county governments to enforce those laws. They will also pressure Realtors to make sure home buyers know they are buying homes in areas where livestock or wild horses are permitted to roam. Bonnie Matton, of the Wild Horse Preservation League, said the group is offering a publication titled "Welcome to Wild Horse Country" that documents laws regarding horses. "We've already started giving it to Realtors," she said. "We're going to the commissioners, planning departments and advisory councils in Dayton, Silver Springs, Stagecoach and Virginia City." Among the information the group will be handing out is the law on range land disclosure that is supposed to be signed by both buyer and seller when a home is sold that is adjacent to open range or areas where livestock or wild horses are allowed to roam. NRS 113.065 requires disclosure upon sale of home or improved lot adjacent to open range; disclosure constitutes affirmative defense in action resulting from livestock entering property. NRS 568.355 defines open range as all unenclosed land outside of cities and towns upon which cattle, sheep or other domestic animals by custom, license, lease or permit are grazed or permitted to roam. The requirement of the Nevada Range Land Disclosure form was passed by the 2001 Legislature. Dorothy Wingard, who purchased a home in the Legado golf community in 2003, said she never signed a Nevada Range Land Disclosure form. "The horses have been down here," she said. "Kids cut the fence so they can get their dirt bikes through, and the horses sometimes come in." She said that although her neighborhood is fairly urbanized, when she bought it, there was quite a bit of open space. "They were just beginning to develop," she said. "There's always been horses up here." Jack Finch, of Stagecoach, purchased a new home in The Villages subdivision in 2005 and said he didn't remember anything about range land disclosures.

A herd of wild horses graze at Santa Maria Ranch development east of Dayton in December, before being rounded up by the state Department of Agriculture. Wild-horse advocates plan to mount an aggressive campaign to inform the public about fence-out laws and pressure county officials to enforce them. Cathleen Allison/ Nevada Appeal File Photo

Browse and Buy Nevada Appeal Photos

Click to Enlarge

"There used to be horses before the houses went in across the street," he said. Finch has no problem with wild horses coming around. "If you don't want the horses, you ought to put up fences," he said. Nan Pearson, of Mark Twain, said she never saw a range land disclosure form until three days ago. Pearson, who purchased her home without the services of a Realtor, said the seller never provided her with the form. "We've talked to a lot of people in the neighborhood and they've never seen it," she said. Charles Kitchen, a Carson City broker and past president of the Nevada Association of Realtors, said he had no knowledge of a case where the range land requirement was not disclosed. "It's one of the forms that the association goes over with new members to make sure they know they have to do it," he said. "That's a fairly new disclosure and I know it's being disclosed to people." Kitchen said that in the middle of a populated urban area, disclosure wasn't necessary, but in rural areas near open range, it was required. Information • Wild Horse Preservation League: www.wildhorsepl.org • A complete disclosure guide can be found at the State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry - Real Estate Division's Web site at: www.red.state.nv.us/forms.622.pdf • Call: (775) 720-5134 • Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.

Horse decisions in Lyon County, federal government's futures

Karen Woodmansee Appeal Staff Writer, kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com March 6, 2007 Important decisions on the fate of wild horses will be made soon on both federal and county levels. Wild horse advocates are pressuring Lyon County government and developers to fence the areas around their subdivisions lest wild horses go where they are not welcome and end up in BLM or state roundups. On the federal side of the issue HR249, a bill reinstating a ban on slaughter of wild horses, is scheduled to come up for a vote on Wednesday in the House of Representatives. The law provides "that no wild free-roaming horse or burro or its remains may be sold or transferred for consideration for processing into commercial products." The bill was introduced by Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and is cosponsored by eight other lawmakers, including Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. Efforts to reach Congressmen Dean Heller on how he would vote on the issue were unsuccessful. Willis Lamm, of Least Resistance Training Corps., said that although state law requires property owners to fence out livestock, counties are responsible for putting fencing requirements on subdivisions and so far Lyon County has not done so. "A subdivision is not open range and the county has the authority to establish fencing standards that apply to that subdivision," he said. "The question is what about the boundary area of the subdivision meets open range?" To answer that question, Lyon County planner Paul Esswein is drafting an ordinance that would require fencing between a planned-unit development and any open rangeland. He said the ordinance, if passed, would apply to new developments and not those already approved. "There are generally problems with adding requirements to things already in the pipeline," he said. He said the problems brought about by developers is that they don't fence the developments and they aren't consistent in providing home buyers with the Nevada Open Range Disclosure Form. In August, 22 horses were removed from the Santa Maria Ranch area after damage was done to landscaping around the new homes in that subdivision. In December, another herd of seven horses were removed from the same subdivision. At the time, Santa Maria developer Gary Hill agreed to bring up the subject of fencing with the subdivision's homeowners' association. Bonnie Matton, of the Wild Horse Preservation League, said in an e-mail that some fencing of the subdivision had begun, but that it would not reach the highway. She added her group had decided not to help pay for the fencing, fearing setting a precedent where they will be asked by every developer to help pay for fencing. Her group will make a presentation to the Dayton Regional Advisory Council at its meeting Wednesday. Lamm thinks that developers should be responsible for fencing. "I have a problem when developers come in and they know the horses are there and they promise one thing and then they don't deliver," he said. Hill could not be reached for comment. If You Go WHAT: Dayton Regional Advisory Council meeting WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday WHERE: Lyon County Utilities Building, 34 Lakes Blvd., Dayton • Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351