Global InformationList of Bureau of Land Management Herd Management Areas information
Herd Management Areas (HMA) are lands under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that are managed for the primary but not exclusive benefit of free-roaming "wild" horses and burros.[1] While these animals are technically feral equines descended from foundation stock that was originally domesticated, the phrase "wild horse" (and wild burro) has a specific meaning in United States law, giving special legal status to the descendants of equines that were "unmarked and unclaimed" on public lands at the time the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA) was passed. Horses that escaped or strayed from other places onto public lands after December 15, 1971 did not automatically become protected "wild horses".[2] In 1971, free-roaming horses and burros were found on 53,800,000 acres (21,800,000 ha) of federal land. Today there are approximately 270 HMAs across 10 states, comprising 31,600,000 acres (12,800,000 ha). Additional herd areas (HAs) had free-roaming horse or burro populations at the time the Act was passed and some still have horse or burro populations today, but unlike the HMAs, they are not managed for the benefit of equines. In addition, some free-roaming equines protected under the WFRHBA are found on lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS), and United States Forest Service (USFS), where they are called wild horse territories (WHT). The BLM sometimes manages equine populations for other federal agencies, the USFS manages some of its own WHTs, and sometimes the agencies administer these areas jointly.
Equine population estimates in each HMA can vary significantly from year to year,[3] depending on habitat condition in a given area,[4] fecundity of the animals,[5] or if a gather has occurred.[6] Census-gathering methods also vary,[5] and wild horse advocacy groups frequently question the validity of the population counts.[7] Nonetheless, each HMA is given an Appropriate Management Level (AML), usually given as a range showing upper and lower limits.[8] This is the BLM's assessment of the number of equines the land can sustain. When the population gets too high, some animals are removed and placed for adoption with private owners or sent to long-term holding facilities elsewhere.[1] Since 1971, about 220,000 horses and burros have been adopted through the BLM.[9]
The original feral horse herds in the Americas were of Spanish horse ancestry. Additional stock brought by eastern settlers moving west, ranging from draft horses to Arabians and Thoroughbreds, added a variety of other horse types. Today, a few populations retain relatively pure Spanish type, but most are a mixture of bloodlines. Some herds have had DNA testing to determine their ancestry.[2][a]
- ^ a b "Rangeland and Herd Management". Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Scopingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Moulton, Kristin (May 1, 2014). "Under pressure, Utah BLM fast-tracks plea to round up wild horses". Salt Lake Tribune. American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ Toiyabe National Forest (N.F.), Central Nevada Planning Unit: Environmental Impact Statement. United States Forest Service. 1976.
- ^ a b National Research Council (U.S.). Commission on Natural Resources, National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros (1980). Wild and Free-roaming Horses and Burros: Current Knowledge and Recommended Research. National Academies. pp. 38, 191–200. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ "Wild Horse and Burro Population Census Population Estimation Census". Nevada Bureau of Land Management. June 1, 2015. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ Raia, Pay (May 17, 2016). "BLM Cites Herd Growth as One Cause of $1 Billion Shortfall". The Horse. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ "Herd Area and Herd Management Area Statistics" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. March 15, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ "Nevada–Wild Horses and Burros". Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).