Managing America's wild horses and burros

Abstract

Fifteen years after passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, die Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service had made significant progress in the management of this resource, but many aspects of the program remained controversial. Program emphasis centered on control of herd size as prescribed in locally developed resource management plansand disposition of excess animals that were captured and removed. Population trends from 1971 to 1986 indicated a steady increase in numbers through 1984 and a gradual decline since that time,but numbers were still about twice the estimated appropriate management level. Budget trends reflected an increased concern in the Congress about management levels and a rapidly escalating cost of maintaining unadopted excess animals. Proposed solutions to these problems included destruction of unadopted animals or their sale, the latter of which would require legislation. Research conducted on wild horses and burros through 1982 centered on range relationships, census techniques, and foaling rates. A new research effort called for in the 1985 appropriation focused on fertility control methods and strategies for population management. A wild horse and burroadvisory board was established in 1986 to advise the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on matters pertaining to management, protection, and control of wild horses and burros on the Nation's public lands.