The climax comes the last Saturday of March, with the Surprise Valley Squirrel Round-Up. Rifle-toting marksmen roll into this land of stark beauty and secessionist sentiments, a world removed from the California of suntans and silicon chips. In some spots, the ground is literally crawling with them. After wintering in a city-like maze of dens beneath the farmland, the rodents emerge ready for action. Cattle and horses can take a wrong step and snap a leg in the tunnels.
Tractors break springs and shackles.
That field over there, I don't know how many thousands have been killed, but they seem thick as ever. That's music to the ears of hunters like Bob Stacklie. The farmer wants them gone. It's as symbiotic as it gets. For years, locals in Surprise Valley have been bracing for a backlash from animal rights activists.