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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Bureau of Land Management today announced up to $7.5 million in funding is being made available to public and private organizations to support the BLM’s mission of managing and protecting wild horses and burros on public lands.  

Partnerships formed through this funding opportunity will support activities critical to managing and protecting wild horses and burros on public lands, such as applying fertility control to slow herd growth, monitoring herd and land health, and improving rangeland habitat for wild horses, wild burros and other wildlife.  

The current population of wild horses and burros on public lands was an estimated 82,883 animals as of March 2023. While this number is only slightly higher than the 2022 estimate of 82,384, it remains more than three times the number of animals that would be in balance with available resources. 

With few natural predators capable of controlling herd growth, the health and welfare of wild horses and burros and their habitat depend upon effective management actions that control herd size, protect animal and habitat health, and prevent overpopulation. Overabundant populations of wild horses and burros are at risk of starvation and drought impacts and can cause substantial damage to rangeland forage plants and soils, outcompete native wildlife species for scarce water, spread invasive plant species such as cheatgrass, reduce sage-grouse populations, limit post-fire ecosystem recovery, and negatively impact authorized grazing. Excessive herds of wild horses and burros may also consume high volumes of vegetation, cause erosion, foster ecological type conversion to annual grasslands, and hamper rangeland restoration projects, which all can contribute to additional carbon releases to the atmosphere.  

Thanks to support from Congress, the BLM has removed nearly 70,000 animals from the range and treated nearly 5,600 with fertility control since 2018 as part of its strategy to reduce the threat to these animals caused by overpopulation, overgrazing, and severe drought. During the same time period, the BLM also significantly increased the number of animals placed into private care, finding homes for more than 42,200 animals in support of its efforts to reduce overpopulation on the range.  

Additional details on BLM’s priorities for funding, as well as instructions for submitting a proposal, can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The deadline to submit project proposals is March 1, 2024.  

The BLM also recently released an associated funding opportunity to support adoptions and other off-range operations, which closes on Jan.15, 2024, and a funding opportunity (and request for proposals) to support new research projects, which closes on Feb. 1, 2024. Additional guidance on applying for funding is available on the BLM’s website.