2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
8/23/2017 | 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Science of Managing Western Rangelands: Framing the Contemporary US Wild Horse and Burro Conflict at the Nexus of Society and Ecology | Salon F
Science of Managing Western Rangelands: Framing the Contemporary US Wild Horse and Burro Conflict at the Nexus of Society and Ecology
The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) of 1971 established unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West”. Today, more than 67,000 horses and burros live on western US public rangelands, exceeding the Bureau of Land Management’s appropriate management level (AML) of 26,500 by a factor of 2.5. The AML is considered to be the number of horses and burros that rangelands can support, while providing for other uses such as wildlife habitat and livestock grazing, without damaging rangelands. In other words, public land management agencies are still expected to manage for multiple use, which becomes problematic when horse and burro grazing goes unmanaged with potential negative consequences for wildlife species such as sage-grouse that require screening cover and perennial grasses and livestock such as cattle that also have a high preference for grasses. Another 46,000 horses and burros have been captured and placed in off-range holding capacities, straining federal budgets. The ecological and financial implications of the burgeoning federal horse and burro population is complicated by several social barriers constraining management actions. First, since 2014 Congress has prohibited the slaughter of horses by not appropriating funding for federal horse meat inspectors. Second, litigation has stymied WFRHBA enforcement due to lawsuits against the federal government for either enforcing (removing horses) or not enforcing (not removing horses) the WFRHBA. Consequently, stakeholders on all sides of the issue are disappointed with how wild horses and burros are managed. While ecological and animal health/welfare implications of unmanaged horse and burro populations are somewhat understood, acceptable strategies to maintain healthy horse and burro populations, healthy and functioning rangelands, and multiple uses that sustain wildlife and local communities is currently unresolved.
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Presenters/Authors
Derek Scasta
(), University of Wyoming , jscasta@uwyo.edu;
Rangeland Extension Specialist
Assistant Professor
Rangeland Management, Plant-Herbivore Interactions Ecologist
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Jacob Hennig
(), University of Wyoming, jhennig1@uwo.edu;
Ph.D. student at the University of Wyoming.
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Jeffrey Beck
(), University of Wyoming , jlbeck@uwyo.edu;
Associate Professor
Wildlife Habitat Restoration Ecology
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