Strategic research plan: Wild horse and burro management

Product Type: Report

Year: 2005

Author(s): U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wild Horse and Burro Program U.S. Department of the Interior

Suggested Citation:
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Wild Horse and Burro Program U.S. Department of the Interior. 2005. Strategic research plan: Wild horse and burro management. : U.S. Bureau of Land Management . 45 p.

Abstract

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-195) provided protection for all wild horses and burros on federal lands and provided guidance for their management as a wildland species. At the time the Act was passed, a roughly estimated 17,000 wild horses occupied federal lands designated for the protection. Since 1971, the primary responsibility for management of the wild equids on federal lands has fallen primarily to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with the U.S. Forest Service sharing some responsibility. In 1971, the BLM was neither staffed nor prepared to monitor and manage such a large number of horses and their effects on semiarid ecosystems. By 1980, the number of wild horses had increased to 65,000-80,000 animals...