The Bureau of Land Management has removed an astounding 240,000 wild horses and burros from federal lands in the past 45 years. During this time, stakeholders across the spectrum have registered dissatisfaction with their actions. The government has been sued for removing animals, contracepting or gelding and for just leaving them be. Several years ago, the government initiated a controversial and aggressive removal program that brought the herds close to Appropriate Management Levels (AML) but also seeded the agency�s current precarious financial predicament. The agency now cares for so many horses in long-term holding, it is largely paralyzed from managing the range. Ranchers, environmentalists, horse advocates and even the agency all agree on one thing��the program isn�t working. Shifting strategy from the short-term satisfaction of removals to more sophisticated and successful programs requires trust, patience, empathy and collaboration from all stakeholders. It is, however, the only path forward to successful manage this iconic, but challenging, animal.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.