Managing Wild Horse Herds with Limited Resources

Abstract

One of the challenges of controlling a wild horse (Equus caballus) herd, on public and private lands, is the lack of resources whether it be personnel, time, or budget. Wild horses can be found on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS) and State-owned public lands or a mixture of those listed. Wild horses can also be found on private land owned or managed by a non-profit organization. A form of fertility management is PZP (porcine zona pellucida) immunocontraception which when injected into mares causes antibodies which interfere with fertilization and prevents pregnancy. The vaccine can be delivered remotely by a dart once it is mixed with an adjuvant. This process is done by trained government personnel or trained volunteers. We present here successful partnerships between volunteers from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working collaboratively with federal and state governmental agencies. NGOs are often non-profit groups already advocating for a herd in the area and a few examples are Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range, Colorado; McCullough Peaks Wild Horse Range, Wyoming; Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, Montana; Sand Wash Basin, Colorado; Spring Creek Basin, Colorado; Onaqui Mountain, Utah; and Salt River Herd, Arizona. These collaborations are successful because local groups have a strong interest in wild horses, the wildlife, and/or the health of the rangeland.