Editing Bureau of Land Management (section)

==Wild horse and burro program==
{{See also|Mustang|Burro|Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971|List of BLM Herd Management Areas}}
[[File:TuleHorses.JPG|thumb|[[Mustang]]s run across [[Tule Valley]], Utah]]

The BLM manages [[Free-roaming horse management in North America|free-roaming horses]] and [[burro]]s on public lands in ten western states.<ref name=QF/> Though they are [[feral]], the agency is obligated to protect them under the [[Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971]] (WFRHBA).<ref name=QF/> As the horses have few natural predators, populations have grown substantially.<ref name=QF/> WFRHBA as enacted provides for the removal of excess animals; the killing of lame, old, or sick animals; the private placement or adoption of excess animals; and even the killing of healthy animals if range management required it.<ref name="iraola">{{Cite journal |last=Roberto |first=Iraola |date=Fall 2005 |title=The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 |url=https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=35+Envtl.+L.+1049&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=25bca7e60e63e8e03c76fa8d795d95be |journal=Environmental Law |publisher=Lewis & Clark Law School |volume=35 |pages=1049–1079 |access-date=November 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012853/https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=35+Envtl.+L.+1049&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=25bca7e60e63e8e03c76fa8d795d95be |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SterbaRevived">Sterba, James P. "Revived Killing of Wild Horses for Pet Food Is Feared." ''New York Times.'' August 3, 1974.</ref> The killing of healthy or unhealthy horses has almost never occurred.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3796106.pdf |title=Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |page=16 |access-date=November 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129070339/http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3796106.pdf |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Pursuant to the [[Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978]], the BLM has established 179 "herd management areas" (HMAs) covering {{convert|31.6|e6acre|km2}} acres where feral horses can be found on federal lands.<ref name="QF">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts/quick_facts.html |title=Wild Horse and Burro Quick Facts |publisher=BLM |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131163106/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/whbprogram/history_and_facts/quick_facts.html |archive-date=January 31, 2016 |access-date=November 16, 2014}}</ref>

In 1973, BLM began a pilot project on the [[Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range]] known as the Adopt-A-Horse initiative.<ref name="Pitt528">Pitt, Kenneth. "The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act: A Western Melodrama." ''Environmental Law.'' 15:503 at 528 (Spring 1985)</ref> The program took advantage of provisions in the WFRHBA to allow private "qualified" individuals to "adopt" as many horses as they wanted if they could show that they could provide adequate care for the animals.<ref name="Glover11111112">Glover, Kristen H. "Managing Wild Horses on Public Lands: Congressional Action and Agency Response." ''North Carolina Law Review.'' 79:1108 (May 2001).</ref> At the time, title to the horses remained permanently with the federal government.<ref name="SterbaRevived" /> The pilot project was so successful that BLM allowed it to go nationwide in 1976.<ref name="Pitt528" /> The Adopt-a-Horse program quickly became the primary method of removing excess feral horses from BLM land given the lack of other viable methods.<ref name="Glover11111112" /> The BLM also uses limited amounts of contraceptives in the herd, in the form of [[Porcine zona pellucida|PZP]] vaccinations; advocates say that additional use of these vaccines would help to diminish the excess number of horses currently under BLM management.<ref name="RaiaFuture">Raia, Pat (March 1, 2009). [http://www.thehorse.com/articles/22892/blm-horses-whats-their-future "BLM Horses: What's Their Future."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225010226/http://www.thehorse.com/articles/22892/blm-horses-whats-their-future |date=December 25, 2014 }} ''The Horse''. Accessed September 20, 2013.</ref>

[[File:Wild Burros.jpg|thumb|[[Feral]] burros in [[Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area|Red Rock Canyon]]|left]]

Despite the early successes of the adoption program, the BLM has struggled to maintain acceptable herd levels, as without natural predators, herd sizes can double every four years.<ref name=QF/> As of 2014, there were more than 49,000 horses and burros on BLM-managed land, exceeding the BLM's estimated "appropriate management level" (AML) by almost 22,500.<ref name=QF/>

The Bureau of Land Management has implemented several programs and has developed partnerships as part of their management plan for preserving wild burros and horses in the United States. There are several herds of horses and burros roaming free on 26.9 million acres of range spread out in ten western states. It is essential to maintain a balance that keeps herd management land and animal population healthy. Some programs and partnerships include the Mustang Heritage Foundation, U.S. Border Patrol, Idaho 4H, Napa Mustang Days and Little Book Cliffs Darting Team. These partnerships help with adoption and animal population as well as education and raising awareness about wild horses and burros.<ref>"Programs: Wild Horse and Burro | BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT." BLM.gov Home Page | BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423142712/https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro |date=April 23, 2020 }}. Accessed April 27, 2017.</ref>