Stakeholder Knowledge and Perceptions of Free-roaming Equids and Their Management at a Western U.S. Land Grant University ...

• Main Authors: Wood, Hollee S, Frey, S. Nicole, Messmer, Terry A
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Utah State University 2022
• Subjects: Bering Strait
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26077/e14a-b5ed; https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol16/iss2/11

The horse (Equus ferus caballus), originally native to North America, became extinct on the continent approximately 10,000 years ago. Horses that migrated from North America to Eurasia across the Bering Strait continued to evolve and were domesticated along with burros (E. asinus). Both species were then transported to the Americas where they were intentionally released or escaped into the wild, forming feral herds. The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA) provided federal oversight and protection for feral horses and burros (hereafter, free-roaming equids) that inhabited designated areas on public lands in the western United States. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimated in 2019 that >90,000 free-roaming equids inhabited 29 million ha on 177 designated herd management areas (HMAs). This population estimate exceeds the designated appropriate management level (AML) of 26,785. To provide BLM managers with insights regarding stakeholder knowledge and perceptions about the ...