Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Committee to Review the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Management Program
Division on Earth and Life Studies
National Academies Press
National Research Council
Download Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program by Committee to Review the Bu
Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program
Author : Committee to Review the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Management Program, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
Published : 2013-09-18
ISBN-10 : 0309264952
ISBN-13 : 9780309264952
Number of Pages : 373 Pages
Language : en
Descriptions Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program
Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward reviews the science that underpins the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States, concluding that constructive changes could be implemented. The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros, to model the effects of management actions on the animals, or to assess the availability and use of forage on rangelands. Evidence suggests that horse populations are growing by 15 to 20 percent each year, a level that is unsustainable for maintaining healthy horse populations as well as healthy ecosystems. Promising fertility-control methods are available to help limit this population growth, however. In addition, science-based methods exist for improving population estimates, predicting the effects of management practices in order to maintain genetically diverse, healthy populations, and estimating the productivity of rangelands. Greater transparency in how science-based methods are used to inform management decisions may help increase public confidence in the Wild Horse and Burro Program.