Study on Corolla horses would try find correct number

New research could resolve the long debate over how many wild horses is too many for the Currituck Outer Banks environment.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund plans to commission a study led by North Carolina State University that would examine the effe ct of the herd on marshes and grasses crucial to waterfowl habitat, said Karen McCalpin, executive director of the fund.

The study could cost as much as $800,000 and take as long as two years, she said. Plans are to solicit public and private grants to pay for it, she said.

"We have no science on the actual impact of the horses," McCalpin said.

A herd of at least 120 to 130 would encourage long-term health, she said. However, federal officials are concerned that a herd too large would damage habitat at Currituck National Wildlife Refuge.

Officials with Currituck County, the refuge and the wild horse fund worked out a management plan in 1999 that set a limit of 60 horses. A September count put the herd at 101.

Descended from Spanish mustangs, the Corolla wild horses are among the most popular tourist attractions on the Outer Banks. At times, small groups leave the maritime forests and cross the dunes to the beach, drawing large crowds of people. In the summer, sales of wild horse T-shirts and hats help pay for horse management.

N.C. State agreed last summer to conduct the study, and earlier this month, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., endorsed it in a wild horse advisory group meeting in Currituck County, said County Manager Dan Scanlon. Federal officials also agreed to its merits, said Mike Bryant, project leader for North Carolina coastal refuges and the red wolf recovery program.

The study also would measure the effects of humans and feral hogs there. Outer Banks property total ing 960 acres owned by the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve would be included.

"The science would help us," Bryant said.

Last summer, research by genetics expert Gus Cothran, a professor with Texas A&M University, indicated that the Corolla wild horses have low genetic diversity, a condition caused by breeding within a small population, which could lead to defects.

In an effort to reduce the herd, 34 wild horses were adopted out to qualified private owners. McCalpin and herd manager Steve Rogers began a birth control program last year.

More than 4,000 acres of the 12,000-acre four-wheel-drive area of the northern Outer Banks lies within the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. Wild horses have grazed on marsh grass typically used by waterfowl for food, shelter and places to hide from predators, Bryant said. Migratory bird habitat, the primary mission of the refuge, takes precedence, he said.

Wild horses at Shackleford Banks, part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, live on just 3,000 acres, McCal-pin said.

"Do they have an impact?" she said. "Yes, I'm sure they do, but so do people."

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com