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Optimal Control of Wild Horse Populations with Nonlethal Methods
- Land Economics
- University of Wisconsin Press
- Volume 93, Number 3, August 2017
- pp. 390-412
- Article
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Effective management of wild horse populations has proven difficult for land managers. This paper develops and evaluates dynamic optimization models of wild horse management for three nonlethal population control methods: removals, fertility control, and a hybrid method combining removals and fertility control. Two state variables are included in the models to account for horses on the range and horses in off-range holding facilities. The optimization problems are solved and dynamic simulations are generated for each method. The results indicate that a strategic approach to nonlethal wild horse population control has the potential to significantly improve management efficiency.