Wild horses and their management by the Bureau of Land Management

Following passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971, limits for the number of horses on each herd unit (referred to as Herd Management Areas or HMA's) were set. These limits or population goals are referred to as Appropriate Management Levels or AMLs. From 1980 and through the present, more active management reduced wild horse numbers closer to AMLs. Wild horse numbers were reduced to about 40,000 by 1999 and to about 37,186 wild horses in 2003, prior to the foaling season. Some 203 HMAs are managed by the BLM across the Western U.S. The responsibility of monitoring range conditions; allocating range resources between horses, livestock, and wildlife; monitoring horse and burro numbers and managing their population levels represents a large federal management responsibility. The number of animals in most herds are counted or estimated every three to four years, in order to plan for any gathers, and adoptions. Herd management activities, such as gathers and removals, take place for most herd areas every four years. WILD HORSES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT BY THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT......Page 4 CONTENTS......Page 6 PREFACE......Page 8 I. STATEMENT OF THE CHALLENGE......Page 12 A. Introduction Background......Page 13 B. Wild Horses in North America......Page 18 A. Health and Handling Issues......Page 24 B. Fertility Control in Wild Horses ......Page 25 D. Genetics......Page 27 E. Habitat Assessment and Setting Population Goals......Page 28 A. Health and Handling Strategies......Page 29 B. Fertility Control in Wild Horses - Strategies......Page 32 C. Population Estimation and Modeling of Population Management Prescriptions – Strategies ......Page 36 D. Genetic Conservation Strategies......Page 39 E. Habitat Assessment and Setting Population Goals......Page 41 IV. GLOSSARY......Page 42 V. LITERATURE CITED......Page 43 VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 45 ENDNOTES......Page 46 ABSTRACT......Page 48 INTRODUCTION......Page 49 STUDY AREA......Page 50 Aerial Surveys......Page 51 Data Analysis......Page 53 Population Modeling......Page 54 RESULTS......Page 55 DISCUSSION......Page 57 CONCLUSION......Page 58 REFERENCES......Page 59 WHAT GAO FOUND......Page 62 WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS......Page 63 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 64 RESULTS IN BRIEF......Page 67 BACKGROUND......Page 70 BLM has Set AML for 197 out of 199 HMAs, but no Formal Guidance Existson how to Establish AML......Page 78 BLM has Made Significant Progress toward Meeting AML, but some HMAsRemain far over AML......Page 83 BLM has Established a Formal Policy on Gathers and Removals thatSpecifies the Key Factors that should be Considered in the Decision MakingProcess......Page 86 Research and Experience have Shown that BLM’s On-the-Range PopulationEstimates Are too Low......Page 88 DECLINING ADOPTIONS AND SALES HAVE INCREASED THE NEED FOR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM HOLDING FACILITIES,AND HOLDING COSTS HAVE INCREASED ......Page 89 Adoption Rates have Declined since the 1990s, and the 2004 Sale Directive Generally has not been Used ......Page 90 BLM Manages 30,088 Animals in an Increasing Number of Short-Term and Long-Term Holding Facilities, and Holding Costs have Increased ......Page 91 BLM HAS CONTROLS IN PLACE TO HELP ENSURE THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF WILD HORSES AND BURROS, BUT IT COULD BETTER TRACK AND REPORT THESE DATA TO THE PUBLIC ......Page 93 BLM Internal Controls Help Ensure Humane Treatment, but BLM CouldImprove Data Gathering and Reporting in some Areas......Page 94 CHALLENGES TO THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDE GROWING HOLDING COSTS AND LIMITED OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH UNADOPTABLE ANIMALS ......Page 100 If not Controlled, Off-the-range Holding Costs will Continue to Overwhelm the Program......Page 101 Under Current Law BLM’s Options are Limited for Dealing with Unadoptable Animals ......Page 103 CONCLUSIONS......Page 104 AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION......Page 106 APPENDIX I: OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY......Page 107 Genetic Variability......Page 110 APPENDIX III:WILD HORSE AND BURRO SURVEY RESULTS......Page 111 ENDNOTES......Page 119 INDEX......Page 124