Wild horses and their management by the Bureau of Land Management

WILD HORSES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT BY THE BUREAU  OF LAND MANAGEMENT......Page 4
CONTENTS......Page 6
PREFACE......Page 8
I. STATEMENT OF THE CHALLENGE......Page 12
A. Introduction Background......Page 13
B. Wild Horses in North America......Page 18
A. Health and Handling Issues......Page 24
B. Fertility Control in Wild Horses
......Page 25
D. Genetics......Page 27
E. Habitat Assessment and Setting Population Goals......Page 28
A. Health and Handling Strategies......Page 29
B. Fertility Control in Wild Horses - Strategies......Page 32
C. Population Estimation and Modeling of Population Management Prescriptions – Strategies
......Page 36
D. Genetic Conservation Strategies......Page 39
E. Habitat Assessment and Setting Population Goals......Page 41
IV. GLOSSARY......Page 42
V. LITERATURE CITED......Page 43
VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 45
ENDNOTES......Page 46
ABSTRACT......Page 48
INTRODUCTION......Page 49
STUDY AREA......Page 50
Aerial Surveys......Page 51
Data Analysis......Page 53
Population Modeling......Page 54
RESULTS......Page 55
DISCUSSION......Page 57
CONCLUSION......Page 58
REFERENCES......Page 59
WHAT GAO FOUND......Page 62
WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS......Page 63
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 64
RESULTS IN BRIEF......Page 67
BACKGROUND......Page 70
BLM has Set AML for 197 out of 199 HMAs, but no Formal Guidance Existson how to Establish AML......Page 78
BLM has Made Significant Progress toward Meeting AML, but some HMAsRemain far over AML......Page 83
BLM has Established a Formal Policy on Gathers and Removals thatSpecifies the Key Factors that should be Considered in the Decision MakingProcess......Page 86
Research and Experience have Shown that BLM’s On-the-Range PopulationEstimates Are too Low......Page 88
DECLINING ADOPTIONS AND SALES HAVE INCREASED THE NEED FOR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM HOLDING FACILITIES,AND HOLDING COSTS HAVE INCREASED
......Page 89
Adoption Rates have Declined since the 1990s, and the 2004 Sale Directive Generally has not been Used
......Page 90
BLM Manages 30,088 Animals in an Increasing Number of Short-Term and Long-Term Holding Facilities, and Holding Costs have Increased
......Page 91
BLM HAS CONTROLS IN PLACE TO HELP ENSURE THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF WILD HORSES AND BURROS, BUT IT COULD BETTER TRACK AND REPORT THESE DATA TO THE PUBLIC
......Page 93
BLM Internal Controls Help Ensure Humane Treatment, but BLM CouldImprove Data Gathering and Reporting in some Areas......Page 94
CHALLENGES TO THE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROGRAM INCLUDE GROWING HOLDING COSTS AND LIMITED OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH UNADOPTABLE ANIMALS
......Page 100
If not Controlled, Off-the-range Holding Costs will Continue to Overwhelm the Program......Page 101
Under Current Law BLM’s Options are Limited for Dealing with Unadoptable Animals
......Page 103
CONCLUSIONS......Page 104
AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION......Page 106
APPENDIX I: OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY......Page 107
Genetic Variability......Page 110
APPENDIX III:WILD HORSE AND BURRO SURVEY RESULTS......Page 111
ENDNOTES......Page 119
INDEX......Page 124