Fertility Control Options for Management of Free-roaming Horse Populations

The management of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus) and burros (E. asinus) in the United States has been referred to as a “wicked problem” because, although there are population control options, societal values will ultimately determine what is acceptable and what is not. In the United States, free-roaming equids are managed by different types of organizations and agencies, and the landscapes that these animals inhabit vary widely in terms of access, size, topography, climate, natural resources, flora, and fauna. This landscape diversity, coupled with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments, means that adaptive management practices are needed to regulate these free-roaming populations. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently manages free-roaming equids on 177 herd management areas in the United States by applying fertility control measures in situ and/or removing horses, which are either adopted by private individuals or sent to long-term holding facilities. The BLM off-range population currently includes \u3e50,000 animals and costs approximately $50 million USD per year to maintain; on-range equid numbers were estimated in March 2022 to be approximately 82,384. On-range populations can grow at 15–20% annually, and current estimates far exceed the designated appropriate management level of 26,715. To reduce population recruitment, managers need better information about effective, long-lasting or permanent fertility control measures. Because mares breed only once a year, fertility control studies take years to complete. Some contraceptive approaches have been studied for decades, and results from various trials can collectively inform future research directions and actions. Employing 1 or more fertility control tools in concert with removals offers the best potential for success. Active, iterative, cooperative, and thoughtful management practices can protect free-roaming horses while simultaneously protecting the habitat. Herein, we review contraceptive vaccines, intrauterine devices, and surgical sterilization options for controlling fertility of free-roaming horses. This review provides managers with a “fertility control toolbox” and guides future research

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Notes and Documents, Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 36, Number 2, Summer 1958. It includes documents about the dedication of a bust of Robert Lee Williams, the OHS annual tour, the history of the Oklahoma Panhandle, the establishment of Boggy Depot State Park, the history of St. John's Mission in Prairie City, the history of Sivler City on the Chisholm Trail, a correction, and Oklahoma historical markers

Evaluation and compilation of DOE waste package test data: Biannual report, August 1987--January 1988

This report summarizes results of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) evaluations on waste packages designed for containment of radioactive high-level nuclear waste (HLW). The waste package is a proposed engineered barrier that is part of a permanent repository for HLW. Metal alloys are the principal barriers within the engineered system. Since enactment of the Budget Reconciliation Act for Fiscal Year 1988, the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, site (in which tuff is the geologic medium) is the only site that will be characterized for use as high-level nuclear waste repository. During the reporting period of August 1987 to January 1988, five reviews were completed for tuff, and these were grouped into the categories: ferrous alloys, copper, groundwater chemistry, and glass. Two issues are identified for the Yucca Mountain site: the approach used to calculate corrosion rates for ferrous alloys, and crevice corrosion was observed in a copper-nickel alloy. Plutonium can form pseudo-colloids that may facilitate transport. NBS work related to the vitrification of HLW borosilicate glass at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) and activities of the DOE Materials Characterization Center (MCC) for the 6-month reporting period are also included. 27 refs., 3 figs

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Notes and Documents, Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 35, Number 2, Summer 1957. It includes additional notes for The Chronicles articles, a letter written by a Presbyterian missionary from a mission in the Choctaw Nation, a letter from a U. S. Marshal in 1889, a letter from Braman, Oklahoma, in 1897, and a document about the annual OHS tour for 1957

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Notes and Documents, Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 37, Number 2, Summer 1959. It includes documents about the first fossil discovered in Oklahoma, education in Indian Territory, the publication of the Arapaho Arrow, the founding of the post office at Geary, a memorial plaque for Dr. Emmett Starr, voting by the Osage in the first Oklahoma elections, the 1959 tour by the OHS, and the late publication of this issue of The Chronicles

Can Social Policies Improve Health? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 38 Randomized Trials.

Policy Points Social policies might not only improve economic well-being, but also health. Health policy experts have therefore advocated for investments in social policies both to improve population health and potentially reduce health system costs. Since the 1960s, a large number of social policies have been experimentally evaluated in the United States. Some of these experiments include health outcomes, providing a unique opportunity to inform evidence-based policymaking. Our comprehensive review and meta-analysis of these experiments find suggestive evidence of health benefits associated with investments in early life, income support, and health insurance interventions. However, most studies were underpowered to detect health outcomes. CONTEXT: Insurers and health care providers are investing heavily in nonmedical social interventions in an effort to improve health and potentially reduce health care costs. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all known randomized social experiments in the United States that included health outcomes. We reviewed 5,880 papers, reports, and data sources, ultimately including 61 publications from 38 randomized social experiments. After synthesizing the main findings narratively, we conducted risk of bias analyses, power analyses, and random-effects meta-analyses where possible. Finally, we used multivariate regressions to determine which study characteristics were associated with statistically significant improvements in health outcomes. FINDINGS: The risk of bias was low in 17 studies, moderate in 11, and high in 33. Of the 451 parameter estimates reported, 77% were underpowered to detect health outcomes. Among adequately powered parameters, 49% demonstrated a significant health improvement, 44% had no effect on health, and 7% were associated with significant worsening of health. In meta-analyses, early life and education interventions were associated with a reduction in smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.99). Income maintenance and health insurance interventions were associated with significant improvements in self-rated health (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.36, and OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.10-1.73, respectively), whereas some welfare-to-work interventions had a negative impact on self-rated health (OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.66-0.90). Housing and neighborhood trials had no effect on the outcomes included in the meta-analyses. A positive effect of the trial on its primary socioeconomic outcome was associated with higher odds of reporting health improvements. We found evidence of publication bias for studies with null findings. CONCLUSIONS: Early life, income, and health insurance interventions have the potential to improve health. However, many of the included studies were underpowered to detect health effects and were at high or moderate risk of bias. Future social policy experiments should be better designed to measure the association between interventions and health outcomes