Lilypad
Well-Known Member
I got a bad feeling about this-you be the judge.
Please note:The park service is asking for public input before making a decision about what to do.
Wild horses on Assateague Island are threatening the environment by eating essential grasses, prompting the National Park Service to consider ways to reduce their numbers.
There are 138 horses on the island-too many for the environment to sustain itself, said Jack Kumer, wildlife specialist at the Assateague Island National Seashore.
The horses eat two types of grasses that are essential to the landscape. They enjoy the beach grasses that maintain the structure of sand dunes, which prevent flooding. And their favorite food source is cord grass, or grass in the salt marshes, which is beneficial for the Chesapeake Bay and for humans living near it, Kumer said.
Salt marsh grasses prevent excess nutrients from seeping into the water. They also provide a nursery for most of the fish and shellfish living in the bay, Kumer said. "The fish cannot exist well out here without healthy salt marshes to hide in while young," he said.
Salt marsh grasses should be about 4 feet high, but most of the grasses on Assateague Island are between 6 and 12 inches because the horses have overgrazed them, Kumer said. "All the important things the salt marsh should do, it's not doing," he said.
The horses are given non-hormonal contraceptives for most of their lives, with mares permitted to have one foal each. Still, the population continues to grow.
Horses have lived on Virginia's Chincoteague Island since the mid-1600s, when local farmers brought the animals there in the summer to avoid paying taxes. The horses remained on Chincoteague and were not brought to neighboring Assateague until the early 1960s, when nine domestic mares and several stallions were privately purchased from Chincoteague and brought to Assateague just before it was designated a national park.
The national park started with 28 horses in 1968, and the number has been increasing by about 15 percent a year, Kumer said. The park service began administering birth control to the mares in the 1980s.
"We're trying to find a balance between keeping the island healthy and the horses healthy," he said.
If the horse population drops below 80, the health of the herds could be put at risk. But if their numbers remain above 100, the horses will continue to damage the island, Kumer said.
The park service is asking for public input before making a decision about what to do. 1 option would be to physically remove horses from the island. Kumer said there may be sanctuaries that could take horses and care for them for the rest of their lives. WHAT'S THE OTHER???
"I like the idea of keeping family groups together and moving ... horses that know each other," he said. "We believe there are options to remove some horses that can be done in a short time frame, maybe two years, and give the island more immediate relief."
Please note:The park service is asking for public input before making a decision about what to do.
Wild horses on Assateague Island are threatening the environment by eating essential grasses, prompting the National Park Service to consider ways to reduce their numbers.
There are 138 horses on the island-too many for the environment to sustain itself, said Jack Kumer, wildlife specialist at the Assateague Island National Seashore.
The horses eat two types of grasses that are essential to the landscape. They enjoy the beach grasses that maintain the structure of sand dunes, which prevent flooding. And their favorite food source is cord grass, or grass in the salt marshes, which is beneficial for the Chesapeake Bay and for humans living near it, Kumer said.
Salt marsh grasses prevent excess nutrients from seeping into the water. They also provide a nursery for most of the fish and shellfish living in the bay, Kumer said. "The fish cannot exist well out here without healthy salt marshes to hide in while young," he said.
Salt marsh grasses should be about 4 feet high, but most of the grasses on Assateague Island are between 6 and 12 inches because the horses have overgrazed them, Kumer said. "All the important things the salt marsh should do, it's not doing," he said.
The horses are given non-hormonal contraceptives for most of their lives, with mares permitted to have one foal each. Still, the population continues to grow.
Horses have lived on Virginia's Chincoteague Island since the mid-1600s, when local farmers brought the animals there in the summer to avoid paying taxes. The horses remained on Chincoteague and were not brought to neighboring Assateague until the early 1960s, when nine domestic mares and several stallions were privately purchased from Chincoteague and brought to Assateague just before it was designated a national park.
The national park started with 28 horses in 1968, and the number has been increasing by about 15 percent a year, Kumer said. The park service began administering birth control to the mares in the 1980s.
"We're trying to find a balance between keeping the island healthy and the horses healthy," he said.
If the horse population drops below 80, the health of the herds could be put at risk. But if their numbers remain above 100, the horses will continue to damage the island, Kumer said.
The park service is asking for public input before making a decision about what to do. 1 option would be to physically remove horses from the island. Kumer said there may be sanctuaries that could take horses and care for them for the rest of their lives. WHAT'S THE OTHER???
"I like the idea of keeping family groups together and moving ... horses that know each other," he said. "We believe there are options to remove some horses that can be done in a short time frame, maybe two years, and give the island more immediate relief."
Would you look at those prices??? Next time my mare comes in heat I am tying her to a tree on Chicoteague island.. 
