by the Bureau of Land Management, 39 percent by 

 the Forest Service, and the balance by the other Fed- 

 eral agencies. 



Use by wild horses and burros. — Wild horses and 

 burros in the western United States date back to the 

 16th century when some of the mounts and pack 

 animals of the Spanish conquistadors escaped captiv- 

 ity and survived and prospered in the wild. By the 

 1930's, populations of these feral animals had grown 

 until they were considered as serious problems on 

 many western ranges. In the late 1940's and early 

 1950's, Federal agencies encouraged the removal of 

 feral horses and burros because they competed for 

 forage needed by other grazing animals and were 

 causing serious resource damage, especially in their 

 winter ranges. 



As a result of public concern over the control pro- 

 grams being carried on, Congress passed the Wild 

 Horses and Burros Protection Act of 1971. '^ The Act 

 delegated to the Secretary of the Interior and the 

 Secretary of Agriculture the authority and responsi- 

 bility for the protection, management, and control of 

 wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands 

 administered by the Bureau of Land Management and 

 the Forest Service. The Act does not apply to horses 

 and burros roaming yearlong on private lands or on 

 lands administered by other Federal or State agencies. 



Prior to passage of this Act, direct management 

 and welfare of wild animals on Federal lands, except 

 those included in international treaties, had been gen- 

 erally considered as the responsibility of the States, 

 while the Federal agencies were responsible for man- 

 aging the habitat. Now the Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment and the Forest Service have direct responsibili- 

 ties for the wild horses and burros on lands they 

 administer. 



Most of the wild horses and burros are on Federal 

 lands administered by the Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment. Only a small proportion of their population is 

 on land administered by the Forest Service. This is 

 believed to be due to the generally rougher terrain 

 and more severe winters of National Forest System 

 land. '4 



Wild horse populations on lands administered by 

 the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service 

 have increased dramatically since passage of the Act, 

 while burro populations are believed to be stable or 

 perhaps declining (table 5.5). The 1971 estimates for 



both kinds of animals are rather crude and consid- 

 ered as unreliable, especially for wild horses. The 

 1974 burro estimate is also considered unreliable 

 because of highly inflated estimates made in Arizona 

 prior to an aerial census. 



Table 5.5 — Estimates of wild liorses and burros 

 in 10 western States in 1971, 1974, and 1976 



Animal 



1971' 



1974 



1976 



Horses 

 Burros 



Total 



17,300 

 8,045 



25,345 



45,207 

 14,646^ 



59,853 



56,335 

 7,101 



63,436 



' 1971 estimates are for Federal lands administered by Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment only Otfier years include lands administered by Forest Service as well as tfie 

 Bureau of Land Management 



' Estimate made prior to aerial census in 1975 and not considered reliable. 



Source U S Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and US 

 Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Second reporffo Congress. Adm/n/sfra- 

 f;on 0/ the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act (sic) 1976. Washington. DC. 

 45 p . with appendix 1976 



US Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Forest Service. 1978 report to Congress Management of wild 

 tree-roaming horses and burros on the Public Lands and lands ol the National 

 Forest System. (In draft) 



'5 92nd U.S. Congress. Wild Horses and Burros Protection Act. 

 Public law 92-195. 1971. 



'••U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Second 

 report to Congress: Administration of the Wild Free-Roaming 

 Horse and Burro Act (sic). 1976. Washington, D.C. 45 p., with 

 appendix. 1976. 



Passage of the Wild Horses and Burros Protection Act of 1971 has 

 resulted in dramatic increases in wild horse populations on Federal 

 lands. Concerns are mounting about the impacts of the horses on 

 vegetation and soil resources and other grazing animals. 



166 



