A characteristic of rural Nevada is the abundance of wild horses and burros. With an increasing population and economic activity in rural Nevada conflicts between rural Nevada residents and wild horses and burros have become evident. Some rural Nevada residents see wild horses and burros as an asset for current and future rural Nevada tourism development. Others find wild horses and burros to be a nuisance to living in rural Nevada.
In 1971, the U.S. Congress passed the Wild and Free Roaming Act, protecting in perpetuity the wild horse and burros place on the range. To manage the public range the Bureau of Land Management has developed a program to make available wild horses and burros for adoption. However, this program is expensive and has had limited success in achieving its objectives. There is a need to study methods which could increase adoption of wild horses and burros. This study will examine both the auction methods used and the characteristics of wild horses and burros that would increase their adoption rates.