How our Land Conservancy Project is protecting wild herds’ habitats.

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

The American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is dedicated to preserving lifelong freedom for America’s wild horses and burros in their natural habitats. This mission drives our work every day as we advocate for their protection, lobby for better laws and policies, and take legal action when necessary to achieve change. We are fully committed to upholding our promise to these magnificent animals, ensuring they remain where they belong – in the wild. 

That’s why we launched the Land Conservancy Project, an innovative new program to preserve and enhance key habitat so that America’s wild herds can live sustainably in ecological balance with other wildlife. The project is focused on three critical areas: land acquisition, habitat restoration, and humane management.

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Land Acquisition

Much of the public lands where wild horses and burros roam are surrounded by privately owned lands. In fact, private lands often run through the federally-managed areas that wild horses call home, creating what is called checkerboard lands. This can sometimes give rise to conflicts between landowners and wildlife, including wild horses and burros. That’s why land acquisition is a vital component of AWHC’s Land Conservancy Project.

Photo taken on new AWHC land by John T. Humphrey

We believe the acquisition of key private lands in these areas presents a major opportunity to not only secure and improve habitat, but also reduce conflicts between horses and humans. By doing so, we aim to establish AWHC as a trusted partner in the stewardship of wild herds and their habitats.

To this end, AWHC recently acquired 3,300+ acres of prime habitat in Nevada’s beautiful Carson Valley to serve as a pilot program for our Land Conservancy Project! Through this pilot, we aim to set the conservation standard for wild horse and burro protection by preserving and restoring habitat and developing partnerships with the federal government and local governments to further land and wildlife conservation goals.

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Habitat Restoration

According to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) own range data, much of the land it manages is in degraded condition due to extractive uses, such as historic overgrazing of livestock. These activities, along with fire and drought, have depleted habitats for all wildlife, including protected species like wild horses and burros.

AWHC has a strong track record of addressing habitat challenges. In the Greater Reno Area, for example, we are currently working with local governments, developers, and businesses to improve habitat, preserve wildlife corridors, build water sources, and manage traffic safety hazards.

Our Land Conservancy Project aims to build on this strong record by working to restore meadows, protect creeks and springheads to provide life-sustaining access to water, and reseed areas with native grasses to ensure that wild horses and other wildlife have the resources they need to thrive.

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Humane Management

For over a decade, AWHC has been a leader in the fight to reform federal management of wild horses and burros by advocating for a shift away from cruel helicopter removals towards humane fertility control like PZP vaccine programs. Through our PZP program on Nevada’s Virginia Range, the largest program of its kind anywhere in the world, we’ve proven that there IS a better way to manage our wild herds.

The acquisition of private land in and around critical federal wild horse and burro habitat will enable AWHC to support the expansion of fertility control programs – thus reducing the need for the inhumane roundup, removal, and warehousing of these majestic animals for life in dangerous, overcrowded off-range holding facilities – or worse.

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AWHC is proud to have embarked on this exciting project. If you’d like to help us support this program and expand it to other areas of the West, please consider making a donation today. Your generosity will help ensure we have the resources we need to make this innovative initiative a success.

As always, thank you for standing with our wild herds.

AWHC Team