ATTACHMENT_3_MANAGEMENT_PLAN_FINAL.pdf

ATTACHMENT 3

MANAGEMENT PLAN

I. HERD MAINTENANCE

The plan is responsive to the RFP Scope of Work. The goal of the program is to to mitigate public safety concerns, control population growth, and maintain healthy Salt River horses in a healthy habitat area. Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs) will be developed for each management component to ensure consistency, proper channels of approval and safe and efficient implementation.

A. Range and wild horse documentation and data collection

Data collection and analysis is the foundation of the program in order to document range conditions, document horses (demo-graphic information, sex ratios, condition, band structure, etc), track horse movement, to assess needed range improvements to prevent potential safety concerns and to track the impact of the fertility control program. Our database is described in our Proposal Section III, 2.

B. Range/Herd Management

The SRWHMG will work with the AZDA and the USFS and other relevant entities (e.g. MCDOT, ADOT, MCSO, SRP etc) to design and establish fencing, diversionary and/or supplemental feeding/watering, roadway crossings and signage and other range measures as needed to keep horses from moving into roadways, areas of heavy public visitation, urban areas or other undesirable locations. No actions will be taken without express authorization from AZDA and other relevant authorities.

Components of this aspect of the management program will include:

Diversionary and/or supplemental feeding and water program

Feeding and watering will be implemented only to address extreme drought conditions in which horse body scores fall below 2 on the Henneke scale, or for public safety reasons to keep horses from entering undesirable areas, such as heavily trafficked recreational sites within the Tonto National Forest, and from exiting the Tonto National Forest into urban areas, or for the purpose of bait trapping for rescues and relocations.

Feeding or watering will only take place in approved areas away from urban activity. Feeding will be strictly monitored and managed. Authorization from the AZDA will be required for any feeding or watering. Such authorization will include specific location(s) for feeding/watering, amount and types of feed, specific schedules for delivery, specific individuals authorized to participate in such feeding/watering activities, and guidelines for feeding horses (e.g. petting, touching or interacting directly with horses will not be allowed to prevent habituation of horses to people). These rules will be strictly enforced to prevent any inappropriate feeding or watering from occurring within the Forest.

Currently, in coordination with the AZDA and the USFS, the SRWHMG is implementing an emergency feeding protocol for the Salt River horses due to extreme drought conditions.We calculate that without precipitation this will take a minimum of 2 months and 4 semi loads of half bermuda and half alfalfa hay distributed evenly, every day, over 15 feeding points. A total projected cost of just under $30,000 The success of this emer-gency project will be measured by the goals to be reached:

- No deaths of wild horses from starvation

- Improvement of body scores

- No negative side effects to the horses (i.e. they still should maintain migratory patterns and territories, no habituation to people or waiting in one area for hay delivery),

- No aggressive interactions between horses over access to hay.

- Feeding locations have been established in areas not highly frequented by or visible to members of the public. Feeding locations are not being disclosed to the public so as to allow an undisturbed area for horses to access hay and prevent the horses from associating the presence of people with availability of feed.

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Relocation program

Horses habituating and causing safety concerns in heavily trafficked recreational areas within the Forest, or horses regularly leaving the Forest and entering urban areas may need to be relocated. Working in consultation with the AZDA and the USFS, SRWHMG will relocate horse groups to more remote and safe locations to prevent problems or potential public safety issues. Horses will be relocated in their existing band or social groups. A specific Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) will be written and finalized in consultation with AZDA.

Fencing

In consultation with the AZDA and the USFS, the SRWHMG shall continue its work to maintain and construct fencing as necessary to keep Salt River horses within designated areas the Tonto National Forest, out of roadways and within established horse crossing areas.

Signage and crossings

SRWHMG will continue to work with Arizona Department of Transportation, the AZDA and the USFS on appropriate signage and warning signals in designated areas to reduce risk of horse/-vehicle collisions.

C. Emergency Response

Horses with severe illness or injuries may on occasion require emergency veterinary assistance, including humane euthanasia.

In addition, intervention will be necessary in cases of horses in poor body condition. When needed and available, medical care will be administered. A specific Standard Operating Proto-col (SOP) will be written and finalized in cooperation with AZDA.

The SRWHMG has volunteers in the Tonto National Forest on a daily basis monitoring the Salt River Horses. In addition, we maintain a hotline that the public can use to report injured or ailing horses.

The SRWHMG will make decisions on intervention in cases of severely injured or ailing horses or horses in poor body condi-tion based on intensive observation, assesment and in consulta-tion with a qualified equine veterinarian and the AZDA.

SRWHMG will remove horses with very low body condition scores and/or horses with severe iliness or injury, but who have been determined by a veterinarian to have a chance of recovery, from the Salt River Horse Herd Area with approval from the

AZDA.

The SRWHMG will implement decisions in accordance with the guidelines detailed in our Emergency Plan (Attachment 2).

SRWHMG will provide all necessary veterinary treatment and will place such horses in our sanctuary or otherwise qualified foster or adoptive home.

D. Public education

Public education is a key component of this management plan and it is an activity that the SRWHMG has regularly engaged in over the past four years. The Tonto National Forest is visited by six million citizens -- more than visit the Grand Canyon -- every year. An ever-increasing number of those visitors come to the area just to view and experience the wild horses.

However, there is still a certain number of visitor that do not know that the horses are wild in nature. Alerting and educat-ing Forest visitors to the presence of the animals and appreci-ate and safely observe the Salt River horses is an essential component to this program’s success. Education will include safe distances for horse viewing and information on the, natural behavior and social organization of wild horses, as well as information on the negative impacts and hazards of feeding and otherwise interacting with wild horses. SRWHMG will continue to work with AZDA and USFS on educational and safety signage and will design, install and pay for the signs to be placed at all appropriate areas and recreation areas.

The SRWHMG would like to work with AZDA, USFS and other relevant agencies to establish designated wild horse viewing areas for the public. The wild horses have become a main visotir attraction to the Tonto National Forest, and the public loves to view, observe and take pictures of the horses. Under current situations, when Forest visitors spot wild horses from their vehicles, they tend to pull over and park illegally in dangerous areas on the side of Bush Highway. This causes other vehicles to follow suit, especially now that park visitors have come to associate stopped cars with wild horse sightings.

The question we get most often from the public is, “Where can I see wild horses?” Designated and safe viewing platforms with some available parking at overlooks could resolve some of the safety issues caused by parked cars along Bush Highway and would enhance the visitor experience by creating safe public spaces to view the Salt River horses in their natural habitat.

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II. FERTILITY CONTROL

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Humane fertility control is a key component to humanely managing wild horses in the wild. The PZP (Porcine Zona Pellucida) immuno-contraceptive vaccine is recommended for use by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) (“Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward, 2013). It is registered for use in wild horse populations with the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Arizona.

This plan is developed for a Salt River Wild Horse population of an estimated 400 individuals. All horses move freely between U.S.

Forest Service (USFS) lands and reservation lands controlled by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and Ft. McDowell reservations. Based on multiple years of close observation, approximately one-third of the estimated 400 Salt River horses only periodi-cally visit the USFS managed public lands. The SRWHMG classifies these horses as “reservation horses,” because they spend more than 60 percent of their time on reservation lands. Only approximately 250 horses spend the majority of their time on USFS lands in the Tonto National Forest and this plan is primarily focused on this group, referred to as the Salt River Wild Horses. The SRWHMG does not have

A. Goals

The goal of this proposed humane fertility control program is to achieve zero population growth (ZPG) as quickly as possible and reduce the population therea�er through natural attrition. It is reported that general wild horse populations experience a 6 to 11% overall mortality rate each year. Several years of observa-tion indicate that the Salt River horse mortality rate fluctuates between 6 and 10%, a factor that will facilitate herd reductions (deaths surpassing births) via the fertility control program. This percentage includes casualties of vehicular collisions Bush Highway, natural deaths from old age, colic or injuries, preda-tion as well as drownings in the flow of the Salt River.

The fertility control program will control the population growth of the Salt River wild horses and over time reduce the population through natural attrition. PZP birth control is safe when adminis-tered to pregnant mares and does not cause abortions. Due to the timing of this RFP, the vast majority of mares will already be pregnant with their 2019 foals before the PZP birth control program has been approved. However, it is necessary to begin the PZP program as soon as possible, in order to prevent pregnancy in any mares that are not yet pregnant with 2019 foals and to substantially reduce the 2020 foal crop (by as much as 91 percent). With that in mind, the Year 1 (May/June 2018 to May/- June 2019) goal of the program will be to vaccinate all yearlings and breeding age mares.

Upon contract award, population projections utilizing herd-spe-cific demographic data and date of PZP program approval, will be modeled.

B. The Vaccine

As stated above, the program will utilize the one-year Porcine Zona Pellucide (PZP) vaccination. This vaccine creates an immu-nological response that prevents pregnancy without altering hormones that affect natural behaviors. The behavioral impacts of the vaccine are minimal, and that fact, combined with its effectiveness, led the National Academy of Sciences, in a June 2013 report, to recommend its use for management of wild horse herds. In January 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) licensed the PZP vaccine for use in wild horses under the name ZonaStat H. The vaccine is also licensed for use in the State of Arizona.

The PZP vaccine has a long history of use in wild horses and other wildlife species. It is being used by the National Park Service to manage wild horse populations at the Assateauge Island National Seashore in Maryland and the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

The Assateague wild horses have been managed with PZP for over two decades; population goals have been reached and maintained without the removal of a single horse. Wild horses born on Assateauge Island live out their entire lives and die on Assateague, which is the goal of a humane fertility control program.

PZP is safe for pregnant mares – and will not negatively impact foals already conceived; PZP has a 80-95% efficacy rate in preventing births the year following inoculation. PZP continues to have reduced efficacy for up to three years a�er administration.

There are rare cases of mares being “non-responders” to PZP and conceiving despite the inoculation; however, non-responders are very limited in general populations.

C. Implementation

To prevent population growth and, over time to reduce popula-tion numbers, humane fertility control will be administered to all mares one year of age and older during the first three years of the program. The one-year PZP vaccine will be used; this requires that each mare receive two vaccinations (primer and booster) the first year, and one vaccine per year in subsequent years. PZP can be delivered through remote darting – as is done in a small number of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Herd Management Areas (HMAs) including Little Book Cliffs and Sand Wash Basin in Colorado, the Pryor Mountains in Montana, and McCullough Peaks in Wyoming. All mares treated with PZP will be tracked and monitored—the data collection method will include using our established identification systems (see below) to document the efficacy of the drug and ensure that mares receive the second vaccination and all pertinent data about the horses.

This plan calls for the vaccination of all mares age 1 and over in the first three years of the program in order to quickly achieve zero population growth initially, then herd reductions over time. A�er three years, assessment of herd demographic data, including familial lines, and genetics/pedigree will be made to guide future decisions on which mares to dart and how many mares to dart annually.

D. Training Volunteers

The SRWHMG has a core of ten volunteers, including its president, who are trained and officially certified for remote darting/vaccinating horses and data collection through the Science and Conservation Center (SCC) in Billings, MT. All additional volunteers for the PZP darting team will be trained and certified by SCC as well. Training and certification is required by law for use of PZP in horses. All certified volunteers will receive field training prior to being allowed to administer PZP to horses.

An annual review of all certified darters will be undertaken.

Methods, personnel and protocol for treatments will be clearly outlined in the final Standard Operating Protocols (SOPs), which will be submitted to the Arizona Department of Agriculture

(AZDA) for approval. Dra� SOPs are included with this propos-

al. In addition to the SOPs, detailed records will be kept regard-ing treatment including darting distance, method of dart delivery, placement of dart, recovery of dart, PZP lot/record number and darter.

All volunteers will be required to sign Volunteer Agreements that outline understanding and acceptance to strictly adhere to all SOPs, acknowledgement that only certified and approved volunteers will participate in the PZP program and agreement to hold harmless SRWHMG,the AZDA and the USFS.

E. Data Collection

All horses will be documented with written descriptions, photographs and band identification in the online database identification system. This system includes individual identifica-tion of all horses, including photographs and written descrip-tions of their markings and colors, band affiliation, and various notes. Collected data will include annual foaling rates, vaccina-tion histories, etc. This tracking data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the PZP vaccine as well as impacts such as changes in the foaling period. This proposed fertility control plan will result in reduced population growth rate – with the short-term goal (by Year 3) of achieving ZPG and the long-term goal reducing the population through natural attrition. Detailed treatment records will be kept including darting distance, placement of dart, and PZP record number and darter. An annual report and summary of activities will also be provided.

The treatment records will include photos with enough detail to individually identify every treated mare.

F. Timeline

June – November 2018

- Administer to pregnant mares and yearlings the one-time primer.

- Administer vaccine booster to all treated mares at least 25 days a�er the primer was administered.

January – April 2019

- Administer one-time primer to all untreated mares one year of age and older.

- Administer vaccine booster to all newly primed mares at least 25 days a�er primer.

- Ongoing annual boosting of primed mares shall continue; all mares shall be included in the program. All horses will continue to be tracked and documented. All births shall be documented and all fillies one year of age shall be vaccinated unless other-wise determined by the governing agencies.

G. Sample Dra� SOP’s

Monitoring and Tracking of Treatments

1. The SRWHMG shall identify mares to be treated with fertility control based on our extensive database of individually identi-fied Salt River horses.

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2. All mares darted with fertility control vaccine will be document-ed (photographically and written description of horse, location, band structure) and foals born to these mares will also be record-ed and documented.

3. Reproduction rates of darted horses will be tracked.

4. A PZP Application Data sheet will be used by field applicators to record all pertinent data relating to identification of the mare (including photographs mares) and date of treatment. Each applicator will submit a PZP Application Report and accompany-ing narrative and data sheets will be forwarded to the Project Coordinator for input into the database.

5. A tracking system will be maintained by the applicators and SRWHMGr detailing the quantity of PZP issued, the quantity used, disposition of any unused PZP, and number of mares treated, description/photographs of the mares treated, move-ment and locations of the treated mares, and all other pertinent social band information.

Application (Darting) Process

1. PZP vaccine would be administered through remote darting by trained and certified persons only. Designated applicator must have successfully completed the Science and Conservation Center certification course and field training with an experienced darter.

2. Mares that have never been treated would receive 0.5 cc of PZP vaccine emulsified with 0.5 cc of Freund’s Modified Adjuvant (FMA) and loaded into darts at the time a decision has been made to dart a specific mare. Mares shall receive within three to five weeks the second treatment of 0.5 cc of the PZP vaccine emulsi-fied with 0.5 cc of Freund’s Incomplete Adjuvant (FIA).

3. The liquid dose of PZP vaccine is administered using 1.0 cc Pneu-Darts with 1.5” barbless needles fired from either Dan Inject® or Pneu-Dart® projector gun.

4. Only certified darters would mix the vaccine/adjuvant and prepare the emulsion. Vaccine-adjuvant emulsion would be loaded into darts at the darting site and delivered by means of a capture gun.

5. Delivery of the vaccine would be by intramuscular injection into the le� or right hip/gluteal muscles while the mare is standing still.

6. Safety for both humans and the horse is the foremost consid-eration in deciding to dart a mare. The Dan Inject® gun would not be used at ranges in excess of 30 m while the Pneu- Dart® capture gun would not be used over 50 m, and no attempt would be taken when other persons are within a 30-m radius of the target animal.

7. No attempts would be taken in high wind or when the horse is standing at an angle where the dart could miss the hip/gluteal region and hit the rib cage. The ideal is when the dart would strike the skin of the horse at a perfect 90° angle.

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8. If the dart is not used before the end of the day, it would be stored under refrigeration and the contents transferred to another dart the next day.

9. No more than two to three people should be present at the time of a dartings. The second person is responsible for locating fired darts. The second and third persons should also be responsi-ble for identifying the horse and keeping onlookers at a safe distance.

10. To the extent possible, all darting would be carried out in a discrete manner. However, if darting is to be done within view of non-participants or members of the public, an explanation of the nature of the project would be carried out either immediately before or a�er the darting. Flyers explaining PZP use in wild horses would be available for interested members of the public.

11. Attempts will be made to recover all darts. To the extent possi-ble, all darts that discharge and drop from the horse at the darting site would be recovered before another darting occurs. In excep-tional situations, the site of a lost dart may be noted and marked, and recovery efforts made at a later time. All discharged darts would be examined a�er recovery in order to determine if the charge fired and the plunger fully expelled the vaccine.

12. All mares targeted for treatment will be clearly identifiable through photographs to enable darters and the SRWHMG to positively identify the animals during the project and at the time of removal during subsequent gathers.

13. Persons conducting darting operations will have the ability to communicate with an on-call veterinarian for advice and/or assistance. In the event of a veterinary emergency, darting person-nel would immediately contact the veterinarian, providing all available information concerning the nature and location of the incident.

14. In the event that a dart strikes a bone or imbeds in so� tissue and does not dislodge (an extremely rare occurrence), the darter would follow the affected horse until the dart falls out or the horse can no longer be found. The darter would be responsible for daily observation of the horse until the situation is resolved.

III. INFORMATION TO

SUPPORT SUCCESS

A. The SRWHMG maintains a detailed database with detailed records on the history and pedigree of each horse in the Salt River horse herd.

B. The SRWHMG has a large contingent of experienced volun-teers who have implemented all aspects of management, excluding fertility control, in the Salt River Herd Area for the past four years.

C. The SRWHMG is affilated with a national organization, the American Wild Horse Campaign, that has designed and imple-mented similar programs, including fertility control, and has a successfully raised more than $400,000 over the last five years to support one management program in Nevada.

D. There is a large body of science supporting the efficacy and safety of the PZP birth control vaccine.

E. The SRWHMG has a history of successful collaboration with federal, state and local government entities and other stakehold-ers.

F. The SRWHMG has a proven track record of successful fundrais-ing to support rescue and other management activities.

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