Progress 06/24/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Partners at other land grant universities including Utah State University, University of Nevada-Reno, and the federal agencies managing horses including the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and the US Geographical Survey (which is doing research for the BLM). We also endeavor to provide information to ranchers, advocates, and the general public interested in horses. Changes/Problems:Transferring research to federal agency managers has been difficult and there has been a stark disconnect that has been noticed by many of the university participants. Further engagement with federal agency administrators and managers in the field will help to alleviate this problem, and this group seems to be well positioned to overcome this challenge. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three meetings have been held for all partners and has allowed for interaction between Land Grant University researchers and federal horse managers. In addition, G:BCS has included several student workers who have helped to process images. In addition, we have discussed the disconnect between federal agency administrators and field staff that are on the ground managing horses. Conversations have hopefully opened the eyes of administrators for more interaction with field staff to develop and operationalize research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Products being developed are almost ready for dissemination. Results will be published in peer reviewed journals. We are also discussing short videos on very specific topics. In addition, I helped to host the Free Roaming Equids and Ecosystem Sustainability Network (FREES) in Cody, WY in the fall of 2020 which included presentations on the efforts of both groups. This included an estimated 50 participants in person and 80 participants virtually. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
This group has functioned as a W507 and has held 3 meetings over the last 3 years (2019-2021) in January of each year. The first meeting was in Logan, UT in 2019 which I attended in person, the second meeting was also in Logan, UT in 2020 which I attended virtually because of travel restrictions and closed roads due to snow, and the third meeting was held virtually due to COVID-19 which I attended. This group has four working groups, and I have participated actively in two of them. The first group is focused on body condition (G:BCS) of horses relative to rangeland conditions and the second group is focused on public perceptions of horses (G:Survey). The G:BCS has pooled game camera images of horses, including photos from a study we have conducted here in Wyoming, into a central database and has been estimating BCS under the supervision of Dr. Karl Hoopes (USU Equine Specialist). This database has thus far included 22 game cameras at different locations across Wyoming, Nevada, and California. Additional game camera images from pictures captured in Utah are also being incorporated into the database. In terms of estimating BCS, a total 8,135 horses have been scored. Additional data layers representing vegetation, weather, and management will be incorporated. Much more work is needed on this endeavor and we are continuing to pursue this. The G:Survey was able to capture perspectives from 3,177 participants from the lower 48 states. We are drafting a manuscript to be submitted to a journal summarizing the general knowledge of the public about horses. We anticipate this to be ready for submission in the next month or two.
Publications
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