Environmental Studies Program

 

Date of this Version

Spring 2016

Citation

Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student Thesis, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 2016

Comments

Copyright © 2016 Katie Zuehlke

Abstract

There are two types of management strategies that are used in Carson City, NV, which are the free roaming method and the immunocontraception method. Nevada is home to nearly half of the nation’s wild horses (7), and the Departments of Interior and Agriculture need to manage and protect the wild horses that reside on public land stated by the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 (1). The objectives of this study are to obtain articles about the management of wild horses from previous studies, specifically look at Carson City and the community opinion about the wild horse management in that area, and then from the opinions and research, conclude what is the preferred management strategy for the rangeland, community, and the horses. The main focus of this study is to see what the community thinks about the way the horses are being managed with the free roaming method and the birth control method. The birth control method (Porcine Zona Pellucida or PZP) lasts for two years (3). The free roaming method will be cooperatively managed by the BLM, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Air Force, and the Department of Defense (2). It was found from reading several articles about the Deer Run Road horses that the opinions in the comments that were coded go from anger and disgust to annoyed with then BLM and the government, to extremely happy that the horses were adopted (9,10). It was concluded that the wild horses are creating strain on the rangelands and that the BLM is spending over $74 million to transport them (5, 6). The most positive reactions came from the article “Deer Run group adopts Carson City wild horses removed from BLM” (10). There were a few additional areas that deserve attention if there was more time for the project. These are the development, distribution, and analyzation of surveys to obtain first had opinions from the local community stakeholders. This would be beneficial to accurately identify local sentiment and preference(s). It would also be beneficial for future research to identify and approach different case sites with more accessible information.

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