Beloved wild burro population in Southern California facing uncertain future

Many residents in the San Jacinto Mountain community of Reche Canyon are pushing back against San Bernardino County’s plan to remove a portion of the areas famous and beloved wild burro population.  

Nearly 70 of the wild animals have already been rounded up after the county’s contract with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, a Texas-based organization, went into effect on Dec. 1.  

“We really embrace them as a part of our community,” Reche Canyon resident Brandi Augenstein told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson. “It’s kind of fun sometime to watch them from your porch, just watch the donkeys roll through.”  

Donkey watching in Reche Canyon is something that many residents and visitors cherish.  

“They’re part of the wildlife,” Augenstein added. “That’s part of living in a rural area, being able to surround yourself with nature’s beauty. I don’t believe removal is the answer. We have hundreds of thousands of acres back here in Reche Canyon.”  

In recent years, though, the donkey population has caused some problems, such as car accidents and traffic backups in the heavily traveled canyon.  

“People will pull over, they’ll feed and try to interact with the donkeys,” Robert Kochis who lives in the area told KTLA. “You don’t want to do that. Because of that, they get used to coming up to cars expecting food.”  

What some residents are arguing for is proper county enforcement where the burro population is concerned and say the animals provide the much needed service of feeding on the brush and keeping it under control.  

“If this brush keeps growing and drying out, this is going to be a real handful for firefighters,” Kochis added. “Without them, it’s not really the same canyon.”  

The area is also home to DonkeyLand, one of the nation’s largest facilities for wild burros founded by the late Bob Barker of “Price is Right” fame.  

Officials at DonkeyLand released a lengthy statement about the issue, saying the county notified them of the donkey removal only after they started rounding them up.  

“Unfortunately, all our efforts to help the wild burros stay in the area they have called home for the past 75 years wasn’t successful enough for the County of San Bernardino,” the statement read in part.  

As for the 68 wild burros already captured by officials, they are currently being held on county lands and are likely awaiting shipment to Texas.