Listeners in Joshua Tree and Moab may think their homes are overrun with jackasses, but this episode's guest has got them beat. We talk with Dr. Jennifer Anderson, whose diverse career has brought her to stewarding 300 acres of Sonoran Desert landscape in Mohave County, Arizona. But restoring her former 19th Century mine site has not proved as straightforward as Anderson had imagined. Western Arizona landscapes — and others throughout the deserts — are contending with a huge increase in the numbers of feral burros, introduced centuries ago but newly prospering at the expense of the desert. Anderson details the impact her unwanted guests have caused to her part of the desert, and the cascade of unpleasant effects that stem from the donkeys' presence as well as the inability of land management agencies to contend with the issue.

Plus! Our first ever listener contest: correctly identify all the birds in Fred Bell's nature audio and message Chris, and you may win a 90 Miles from Needles T-shirt. The first three listeners who email Chris with a correct ID, a t-shirt size, and a mailing address will get some mail from us.

Citation links and further reading

• AZGFD study — Associations between a feral equid and the Sonoran Desert ecosystem — Esther S. Rubin, Dave Conrad, Larisa E. Harding, and Brianna M. Russo; Wildlife Monographs 215, e1083, published June 26, 2024. Fieldwork in 2017–2019 compared areas with and without established burro herds near Lake Havasu and Lake Pleasant.
• Environmental Assessment — Big Sandy Alamo and Lake Havasu Wild Burro Gather and Population Control Plan — BLM Kingman Field Office, DOI-BLM-AZ-C010-2023-0025-EA. Official document index for the final revised EA, Finding of No Significant Impact, and Decision Record. Decision issued September 13, 2024. Expand Final Documents to access the assessment.
• BLM 2025 Three Rivers Complex gather and daily reports — Official record of the bait and water trapping operation and fertility control work.
• Alamo Herd Management Area — BLM geographic profile and appropriate management level.
• Big Sandy Herd Management Area — BLM geographic profile and appropriate management level.
• Havasu Herd Management Area — BLM geographic profile and appropriate management level.
• AZGFD explanation of the burro study — Accessible agency summary of the ecological concerns.
• National Academies review of equid fertility management — Methods and Effects of Fertility Management, in Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program A Way Forward (2013).
• Mountain lion predation study — Lundgren and colleagues (2022), A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands. Background relevant to the predator discussion.
• NPS saguaro biology and nurse trees — Background on young saguaros, nurse trees, growth, and roots.
• Federal wild horse and burro law — Official U.S. Code PDF covering private-land removal and criminal provisions, including 16 USC 1334 and 1338.

Guest and episode links

• Sonoran Desert Sanctuary
• Anderson-Arroyo Foundation
• Fellowship for Desert Reporting
• Support 90 Miles from Needles
• This episode's sponsor Copper Mountain College
• Contact Chris