Bureau of Land Management: Effective Long-Term Options Needed to Manage Unadoptable Wild Horses

In our October 2008 report on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, we found that BLM had not provided specific formal guidance to its field offices on how to set appropriate management levels for wild horses and burros. Furthermore, we reported that since 2006 BLM had been working on revising the program's handbook that would provide such guidance. To improve the management of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, we recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to finalize and issue the new Wild Horse and Burro Program Handbook that established a policy for setting appropriate management levels to ensure that they are determined based on consistent factors across herd management areas into the future. The Department of the Interior concurred with the report's findings and recommendations. Based on our finding and recommendation, BLM has taken action to implement our recommendation. Specifically, in June 2010, BLM issued the new Wild Horse and Burro Management Handbook which provides specific formal guidance on how to set appropriate management levels for wild horses and burros. The guidance is provided in section 4.2 and appendix 3 of the new handbook.

In our October 2008 report on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, we found that 19 of the 26 field offices that we surveyed used a counting method which, researchers say, consistently undercounts animals and does not provide a statistical range of population estimates. Furthermore, we reported that undercounting can put animals at risk and lead to increased program costs. To improve the management of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, we recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to continue to adopt and employ statistically based methods to estimate animal populations across herd management areas. The Department of the Interior concurred with the report's findings and recommendations. Based on our finding and recommendation, BLM has taken action to implement our recommendation. Specifically, in February 2010, BLM issued Instruction Memorandum Number 2010-057 on the deployment of statistically based population counting methods for wild horses and burros. According to the new policy, two population survey methods--simultaneous double-count with sightability bias correction and mark-resight using photographs--will progressively be implemented and utilized by field offices as training for field specialists, technical support, and funding are available to facilitate implementation.

In our October 2008 report on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, we found that while BLM state offices sometimes collected data on animals that die during gathers, the information was not complied by BLM headquarters in its centralized database, nor was it reported to the public. We concluded that consistently tracking and reporting this information could help inform the public about the treatment of wild horses and burros and improve transparency. To improve the management of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, we recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to track the number of animals harmed or killed during the gather process in a centralized database system and determine what information could easily be provided to the public to help inform them about the treatment of wild horses and burros. The Department of the Interior concurred with the report's findings and recommendations. Based on our finding and recommendation, BLM has taken action to implement our recommendation. Specifically, in July 2010, BLM issued Instruction Memorandum Number 2010-162 that established a centralized reporting requirement for animal deaths during the gather process. BLM is compiling this information and reporting it to the public on its website. For fiscal year 2010, through August 24, 2010, BLM has reported 19 gather related animal deaths.

In our October 2008 report on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, we found that the long-term sustainability of the program was threatened by the continued escalation of off-the-range holding costs. We reported that the Wild Horse and Burro Program's spending for off-the-range holding increased from $7 million in 2000--46 percent of the program's direct costs--to $21 million in 2007--67 percent of the program's direct costs. To improve the management of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Program, we recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to develop cost-effective alternatives to the process of caring for wild horses removed from the range in long-term holding facilities and seek the legislative changes that may be necessary to implement those alternatives. The Department of the Interior concurred with the report's findings and recommendations. Based on our finding and recommendation, the Secretary of the Interior and BLM have taken action to implement our recommendation. Specifically, on October 7, 2009, the Secretary of the Interior proposed a new "cost-effective" and "sustainable" management approach for the program. The proposed initiative included (1) balancing herd growth rates with adoption demand, (2) establishing new wild horse preserves in the Midwest and East, and (3) showcasing treasured herds in the West with special designations. The new Wild Horse and Burro Initiative was central to BLM's fiscal year 2011 budget request for the program. Furthermore, BLM developed a Strategy Development Document in June 2010 that contained more specific draft goals, objectives, and possible management actions to implement the new initiative. The document stated that new legislative authority and appropriations from Congress would be needed to implement elements of the Secretary's initiative.

In our October 2008 report on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, we found that BLM was out of compliance with the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as amended, by not destroying or selling without limitation excess wild horses and burros. Furthermore, we noted BLM's concerns about the possible public and congressional reaction to the large-scale slaughter of thousands of healthy horses. To address BLM's noncompliance with the act, as amended, we recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to discuss with Congress and other stakeholders how best to comply with the act or amend it so that BLM would be able to comply. The Department of the Interior concurred with the report's findings and recommendations. Based on our finding and recommendation, BLM has taken action to implement our recommendation. BLM has had discussions with key members of Congress regarding changes to the Wild Horse and Burro Program, including needed amendments to the 1971 act, as demonstrated by (1) BLM's March 3, 2009 testimony at the House congressional hearing on the Restore our American Mustangs Act, H.R. 1018; (2) an October 7, 2009 letter to key members of Congress from the Secretary of the Interior on the department's new Wild Horse and Burro Initiative; and (3) BLM's fiscal year 2011 budget request that included a funding request to implement the new initiative. Discussions of the department's new Wild Horse and Burro Initiative have also been held with other stakeholders, such as the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board at their board meetings in December 2009 and June 2010.