1. The Science – or Lack Thereof – of Wild Horse & Burro Management

6. CONCERNED CITIZENS

7. Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act
Living symbol pioneer spirit of the west
Diversity of life
Enrich lives of American people
Integral part of public lands

8. Thriving natural ecological balance
Minimal feasible level
Self-sustaining populations
Considered comparably with other resource values
Livestock grazing closure

9. Managing in boxes

10. Laws, laws, and more laws…
FLPMA
PRIA
NEPA
ESA
MUSYA

12. HAs and HMAs
HMAs = 177 (2017)
HMAs = ~300 (1970s)

13. Wild horses and burros:
Water
Food
Cover
Space

14. + + Comparing HAs and HMAs acreage lost BLM lands: 15,495,427 acres
Total lands: 22,229,731 + +

15. BLM reasons for acreage lost:
6.7 million acres - never under BLM management
7.5 million acres – checkerboard
2.1 million acres – transferred
1.65 million acres - substantial conflicts
1.5 million acres – removed
1.5 million acres – no animals present when Act passed
1.24 million acres – critical habitat component missing

16. AML = Number of wild horses and burros that are consistent with the land’s capacity to support them and other mandated uses of those lands, including protecting ecological processes and habitat for wildlife and livestock.

18. Mark-resight
Simultaneous double-count
Sightability bias correction model
Distance sampling
Forward looking infrared

19. Calculating AML: THREE TIER PROCESS
Tier one: evaluate water, forage, cover, and space
Tier two: determine quantity of sustainable forage
Tier three: genetic considerations

20. BLM total grazing allotments = >21,000 (155 MILLION ACRES)
BLM total number of wild horse or burros HMAs that overlap with BLM allotments = < 657
Total acreage for horses = 31,583,386

23. Animal Unit Month = amount of forage that will sustain one cow and her calf, one horse, two burros, or five sheep or goats for a month.
Total AUMs for livestock on BLM allotments = 8,045,604
Maximum AML for wild horses and burros = 26,715

24. Rangeland health standards and grazing guidelines
Soil
Species (plant/animal)
Riparian
Water quality

25. Land use planning
Resource management plans
District/ Field Office level
Where, what, how, why
Wild horse and burro AML Livestock AUMS
Public participation (NEPA)

26. Grazing management Assessment Inventory Monitoring Evaluations
Determinations

27. Key findings of NAS report (2013)
Lack of rigorous population monitoring procedures
National population size estimate not scientifically rigorous
15-20 percent annual growth rate in most wild horse populations
Management practices are facilitating high productivity
Impact of predators on free ranging horses is limited

28. PZP and Gonacon most promising fertility control vaccines
Manage for metapopulations to optimize genetic health
Unclear how model results are used in management decisions and parameters lack transparency
BLM handbook lacks specificity & definitions
Setting AML transparent, not based on science, or adaptive to change
Need for increased transparency and public participation
“Business as usual” expensive, unproductive, and detrimental

29. Attributing blame Vegetation Water quality Protected species
Soils
Birds
Riparian areas
Research that evaluates and separates cattle and wildlife impacts from wild horse impacts has not been conducted, and studies on horse grazing effects are needed.

30. Benefits provided by wild horses
Seed dispersal
Breaking trails
Access to water
Prey
Nutrient Transfer
Fire suppression
Disease mitigation

31. Going forward There is a problem Maximize management on the range
Patience
Collaborations
Compromise
Genetic diversity
Reduce and reverse herd growth rates
Science
Transparency and accountability

32. THANK YOU