Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Great Plains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on the abundance of feral horses on tribal nations within the USA. Abundance evaluations will be field-based and conducted across approximately 8 states. This funding opportunity is to conduct aerial surveys for feral horses in cooperation with Tribal Nations that request assistance. Tribal governments are largely underfunded and do not have ample resources to manage feral horse populations. Many tribal nations authorize “open range” for horses and several tribal ranges are denuded due to lack of precipitation and overuse by feral horses. In economic downturns, tribal lands often become “dumping grounds” for unwanted horses when hay prices become high and horse owners cannot afford to purchase feed. Likewise, many tribal lands have witnessed an increase in feral horse numbers as horses from illegal activities such as drug trade and bush track racing are left on the landscape when they are no longer useful. Tribal nations are in desperate need of assistance in development of management practices for feral horses, and the first requirement for creating a management plan is a robust abundance estimate.