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

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