Innovative Solutions for Managing Wild Horse Populations

Radio tracking collars, more studies devoted to genetic diversity through fecal analysis, and longer-lasting fertility-control vaccines are among thesolutionsto help rein in the overpopulation of wild horses onpublic landsin the Southwest.

The Bureau of Land Management tells SFR that a few universities and the US Geological Survey could soon be working withBLMto produce innovative approaches to slowing down the excessive reproduction of wild horses from New Mexico to Nevada.

The urgency of putting a halt to the breeding comes at a time when adoptions of the horses are at an all-time low. It also comes on the heels of a US Fish and Wildlife Service decision last week that ruled that thehorses were not an endangered species—a status that a pair of wild horseadvocacygroups were hoping to obtain in court.

“We’re finalizing the agreements right now, and we should be ready to go in about six weeks,” says Jason Lutterman, a spokesman for theBLM's Reno division of theWild Horse and Burro Program.

In all, 21 projects are in the works, and they run the gamut from hands-on neutering and spaying to land management. The total cost is expected to reach $11 million, and the proactive approach would occur over the next five years, Lutterman says.

One of the more important scientific undertakings will be analyzing the poop from horses to determine their genetic makeup. With such knowledge, scientists will be able to conclude what sorts of effects neutering and spaying would have on certain populations and whether such procedures would hinder their sustainability.

In all, there are 179 herd management areas in the Southwest, and the biggest problem, simply put, is that there are no natural predators to keep their populations in check. Subsequently, the horses are capable of doubling in size every four years, which only serves to devastate their range, Lutterman says.

Making matters worse, efforts to secure private adoption are floundering. At the beginning of the millennium, theBLMhad no problem adopting out 8,000 horses per year. Now that number is 2,500, if theBLMis lucky. Conversely, the lifetime cost of keeping just one horse alive is $50,000, which can all add up.

Mike Tupper, aBLMdeputy assistant director for resources and planning, says that the high costs of caring for the animal off the range in the absence of adopting them has left theBLMwith no other recourse but to start fixing the problem at its source: reproduction.

“Wild horses and burros are an important part of our nation’s heritage,”Tupper says in a press release. “That’s why we are seeking innovativesolutionsto help us achieve a humane and cost-effective way to sustainably manage these animals on healthy rangelands for the enjoyment of generations to come.”

At the time of the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, there were only 25,000 wild horses and burros on the range. Since then, the number of animals onpublic landshas more than doubled, reaching 58,150 as of March 2015, according to Lutterman.

In the last year alone, the population has risen about 18 percent. In addition to the nearly 60,000 horses and burros on the range, an additional 47,000 horses and burros that were previously removed from thepublic landsare being cared for in off-range pastures and corrals.

Deniz Bolbol, spokeswoman for the American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation), says the recent developments were made secretly without any public input and that by focusing on sterilization, theBLMwill usher in the extinction of the horses.

Originally Posted By Santa Fe Reporter