As part of the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Crossroads: Change in Rural America currently showing at the Student Center on the USU Eastern campus, USU Extension Faculty Steve Price will give a lecture about wild horses in the West titled: Wild Horses Advocating for Rural Change through Urban Youth Experiences FREE on Tuesday, February 13 at 7 pm in the USU Eastern Student Center Alumni Room. Snacks and door prizes.

Wild horses and burros are a Western icon but their place in rural and wild landscapes is a politically contentious issue. Public misunderstandings of their ecology and management only fuel debates about their future and the appropriate human response. For example, 35% of national respondents and < 10% of Utah and Nevada respondents, in a national survey, understood that horses were non-native. Only 40-60% knew that wild horses were managed in Utah and Nevada and. It is hypothesized that misperceptions surrounding Wild horses and their management significantly contribute to public controversy and that a science-based program for youth would allow participants to reevaluate their opinions of wild horse management. This presentation will serve as a brief introduction to wild horse history in the rural West and the impacts observed from teaching urban youth data-driven curriculum.

Steven Price is an Associate Extension Professor of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and 4-H Youth Development with Utah State University Extension – Carbon County for 6.5 years. As an Extension professional, his programming strives to meet the many local needs across the diversity of his discipline areas. He is a go-to source for research-based information ranging from plant diagnostics, agronomy, to resource issues and assists others in “building knowledge, improving lives”.