Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program

Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2013-10-04

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 0309264944

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Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward reviews the science that underpins the Bureau of Land Management's oversight of free-ranging horses and burros on federal public lands in the western United States, concluding that constructive changes could be implemented. The Wild Horse and Burro Program has not used scientifically rigorous methods to estimate the population sizes of horses and burros, to model the effects of management actions on the animals, or to assess the availability and use of forage on rangelands. Evidence suggests that horse populations are growing by 15 to 20 percent each year, a level that is unsustainable for maintaining healthy horse populations as well as healthy ecosystems. Promising fertility-control methods are available to help limit this population growth, however. In addition, science-based methods exist for improving population estimates, predicting the effects of management practices in order to maintain genetically diverse, healthy populations, and estimating the productivity of rangelands. Greater transparency in how science-based methods are used to inform management decisions may help increase public confidence in the Wild Horse and Burro Program.


Wild Horse Scientists

Wild Horse Scientists

Author: Kay Frydenborg

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 85

ISBN-13: 0547518315

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This title in the Scientists in the Field series sheds light on wild horse population control, a largely ignored area of equine animal science. Full color.


Wild Horses of the West

Wild Horses of the West

Author: J. Edward De Steiguer

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2011-04-15

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 0816528268

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When the Spanish explorers brought horses to North America, the horses were, in a sense, returning home. Beginning with their origins fifty million years ago, the wild horse has been traced from North America through Asia to the plains of SpainÕs Andalusia and then back across the Atlantic to the ranges of the American West. When given the chance, these horses simply took up residence in the landscape that their ancestors had roamed so long ago. In Wild Horses of the West, J. Edward de Steiguer provides an entertaining and well-researched look at one of the most controversial animal welfare issues of our timeÑthe protection of free-roaming horses on the WestÕs public lands. This is the first book in decades to include the entire story of these magnificent animals, from their evolution and biology to their historical integration into conquistador, Native American, and cowboy cultures. And the story isnÕt over. De Steiguer goes on to address the modern issuesÑ ecology, conservation, and land managementÑsurrounding wild horses in the West today. Featuring stunning color photographs of wild horses, this extremely thorough and engaging blend of history, science, and politics will appeal to students of the American West, conservation activists, and anyone interested in the beauty and power of these striking animals.


Wild Equids

Wild Equids

Author: Jason I. Ransom

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2016-06-01

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1421419106

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The first expert synthesis of the diverse studies conducted on wild equids worldwide. Wild horses, zebras, asses, and feral equines exhibit intriguing and complex social structures that captivate the human imagination and elicit a wide range of emotions that influence conservation and management efforts. This book, spearheaded by Jason I. Ransom and Petra Kaczensky, brings together the world's leading experts on equid ecology, management, and conservation to provide a synthesis of what is known about these iconic species and what needs to be done to prevent losing some of them altogether. The most comprehensive conservation book on wild equids in decades, this title will enlighten not only equid researchers, but also mammalogists, conservationists, and equine professionals. Readers will find new insight into the lives of the world's horses, zebras, and asses, understand the basis of our relationships with these animals, and develop a greater understanding of where equids come from and why they are worth conserving. Included in this book are detailed, state-of-the-science syntheses on Social structure, behavior, and cognition Habitat and diet Ecological niches Population dynamics Roles of humans in horse distribution through time Human dimensions and the meaning of wild Management of free-roaming horses Captive breeding of wild equids Conservation of wild equids Conservation of migrations Reintroductions Genetics and paleogenetics


Rants from the Hill

Rants from the Hill

Author: Michael P. Branch

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2017-06-06

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1611804574

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“If Thoreau drank more whiskey and lived in the desert, he’d write like this.”—High Country News Welcome to the land of wildfire, hypothermia, desiccation, and rattlers. The stark and inhospitable high-elevation landscape of Nevada’s Great Basin Desert may not be an obvious (or easy) place to settle down, but for self-professed desert rat Michael Branch, it’s home. Of course, living in such an unforgiving landscape gives one many things to rant about. Fortunately for us, Branch—humorist, environmentalist, and author of Raising Wild—is a prodigious ranter. From bees hiving in the walls of his house to owls trying to eat his daughters’ cat—not to mention his eccentric neighbors—adventure, humor, and irreverence abound on Branch’s small slice of the world, which he lovingly calls Ranting Hill.


The Wild Horse Conspiracy

The Wild Horse Conspiracy

Author: Craig C. Downer

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781461068983

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This stirring book fully justifies America's magnificent wild horses and burros while countering the biased machinations against them. Written by an ecologist who grew up observing these animals in the West, it presents new evidence concerning their history and evolution in North America then describes their many positive contributions to soils, plants, animals and people. Though true restorers of this continent's ecosystem, they have been unfairly targeted for elimination. Over the centuries, they have borne our burdens and helped us along life's way--which makes it doubly unfair that they should be blamed for what we humans have done. As always, they stand ready to help us do the hard work now so desperately needed to restore our shared home. Many of the author's personal experiences with these animals, their diverse herd areas, and the multicolored people involved with them are herein vividly shared. Urgently required now at the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act is a strategy to reverse the negative schemes that are causing their demise in the wild. As described, Reserve Design provides a way for establishing self-stabilizing populations through intelligent and caring programs executed with enthusiasm. Their lesson for humanity concerns how to share freedom and the land with such paragons of nature. Soaring beyond mundane pettiness and with an inspired vision for the future of all life, the elevated perspective and compassionate spirit of this book will prove key to accomplishing its critical goal. In the wild the vigor of any kind is preserved. And the entire horse family--as the Earth itself--needs America's wild horses and burros to continue at vital levels into the future here in their evolutionary cradle and worldwide.


Wild Horse Country

Wild Horse Country

Author: David Philipps

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0393356221

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The “insightful [and] even-handed” (Outside) story of a heroic animal whose existence is in danger. The wild horse, popularly known as the mustang, is so ingrained in the American imagination that even those who have never seen one know what it stands for: freedom, independence, the bedrock ideals of the nation. But in modern times it has become entangled in controversy and bureaucratic mismanagement, and now its future is imperiled. In Wild Horse Country, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter David Philipps traces the rich history of wild horses in America and investigates the shocking dilemma they pose in our own time.


Wild Horses

Wild Horses

Author: Dick Francis

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-05-06

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1440639515

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From acclaimed master of mystery Dick Francis comes a thrilling novel about the illusion of film and the reality of murder—a New York Times notable book. Thomas Lyon has finally been given the chance to direct a potential blockbuster, based on the true story of an unsolved crime that rocked the horseracing world twenty-six years ago. But a cryptic deathbed confession, an assault on an elderly woman, and a frightening threat lead Lyon to pick up the thread of this unfinished tale—and follow it through to its perilous end...


Wild at Heart

Wild at Heart

Author: Terri Farley

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0544392949

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"Wild horses thrived for thousands of generations in the mountains, forests, and deserts of the American West. Their family herds existed in environmental harmony until man chose to "manage" them. Since then, every day more of America's wild horses disappear. But courageous people are trying very hard to reverse this, most notably, young people who feel a kinship with these often misunderstood creatures."--Provided by publisher.


Wild Horses

Wild Horses

Author: Kelly Milner Halls

Publisher: Millbrook Press

Published: 2008-01-01

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13: 1581960654

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Wild horses from all over the world are presented along with a close look at prehistoric horse-like animals and some famous horses and breeds from history and mythology.