1. WILD HORSE AND BURRO STRATEGIC PLAN

Management of wild horses and burros reached a low point in 1992 when populations on the public lands reached nearly 55,000. This, coupled with prolonged drought conditions in parts of the West, resulted in numerous animals dying from starvation and dehydration. In addition, approximately 10,000 WH&Bs were maintained in temporary holding facilities, sanctuaries and prison training programs at a cost to taxpayers of more than $3 million per year. As a result, the majority of the WH&B program appropriations were being spent on the placement and long-term care of animals rather than on habitat management or the maintenance of viable herds on the public rangelands.

In 1992, the BLM developed the Strategic Plan for Management of Wild Horses and Burros on Public Lands to reduce expenditures on the placement and long-term care of WH&Bs and to redirect program emphasis towards on-the-ground management.

Findings:

The Team found the 1992 Strategic Plan effective in meeting some objectives, but in need of revision. Some of the areas identified are:

• The plan focused on the selective removal of young horses, which are more adoptable than older animals, rather than on the rangeland management of the habitat and the adaptability of the animals. In some instances, this has resulted in skewed age and sex ratios in some herds, which if continued in the long-term, could harm the viability of a herd.
• The Strategic Plan's focus on selective removal and animal numbers has resulted in limited resources being left for habitat management and health of the land -- the cornerstone of sustainable resource management.
  
• Funding assumptions in the plan were too optimistic, resulting in the BLM's inability to gather and adopt enough horses to reach appropriate management levels as planned and place appropriate emphasis on maintaining the health of the land.

Recommendations:

The Team recommends the 1992 Strategic Plan be reviewed and updated every 4-5 years. Furthermore, the Team recommends that in updating the Strategic Plan:

• Findings and recommendations in this evaluation should be included, and as appropriate, Resource Advisory Councils should be consulted in the reevaluation of the Strategic Plan. In addition, the WH&B Advisory Board, if chartered (see section on WH&B Advisory Board), should also be included in the reevaluation of the Strategic Plan.
• Provide an annual status report for the Director on all goals and objectives for each herd management area so BLM can better track its progress toward meeting program objectives and plan future strategies and actions.
• Consider increasing adoption fees to recover increased costs resulting from implementing the Selective Removal policy recommendations contained in this report (see section on Selective Removal Policy).
• Complete BLM-sponsored fertility control studies to determine which studies should be further researched or implemented and which should be concluded.