Analysis of U.S. Wild Horse & Burro Management Discourse: Contributions to a K-12 Curriculum

Abstract

Public discourse surrounding wild horses and burros (WHB) managed in the western United States reflects a complex social-ecological issue shaped by historical, cultural, economic, environmental, and political realities. Competing values, priorities, interpretations, perceptions, and lack of knowledge among diverse stakeholders complicate the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) management of these animals. This has created a need for more effective science communication and science-driven educational content to foster public understanding of these complexities. To better understand these dynamics, we studied the communication content and approaches of the two federal agencies tasked with managing wild horses and burros: BLM and the U.S. Forest Service, and five nongovernmental organizations dedicated to these animals. A thematic and rhetorical discourse analysis of agency and organizational website textual content identified cross-site patterns in how WHB are characterized, why organizations are involved, how management problems are defined, and what solutions are proposed. Four overarching meta-themes emerged: (1) WHB status and organizational authority in management, (2) competing definitions of management, (3) management pathways, and (4) the role of science and public understanding. We then examined how organizations used rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) to establish credibility, employ emotional language, and demonstrate logical reasoning in constructing these narratives. We found that federal agencies primarily relied on institutional authority and scientific rationality, while non-governmental organizations more frequently employed moral, emotional, and cultural appeals. Our findings demonstrate that communication about WHB management extends beyond the simplistic transmission of scientific information from experts to the public. It illuminates how human dimensions such as emotions, values, experiences, and identity inform positionality on issues and how these dimensions should also be evaluated. These insights provide a foundation for several broader considerations. First, they will inform our K-12 curriculum approaches by including methods that help students critically evaluate information and engage with complex social-ecological issues, while recognizing the influences of their and others’ worldviews on perspectives and decisions – all in the context of WHB ecology and management. Second, the results of our study can inform BLM’s and USFS’s approaches to management and engagement, as well as their communication approaches with the public and the design of educational materials. Finally, we believe that this work presents an important demonstration of how wicked social-ecological problems and their diverse stakeholders can be approached by decision-makers and management authorities more broadly.