Preserving
the Herd

by Wes Mayer

Cameron Berglund, lecturer with the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design, takes a wild approach to inspire and challenge his students.

Students in Berglund’s Region Site Place Design Studio, LAND 4050S, are all in their third year of UGA’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) program. Although they enter the class with a few years of design experience, Berglund encourages his students to think bigger.

For their semester-long project, students must design a 2,000-acre ranch, incorporating research and service-learning experiences, to support an American icon–the wild mustang.

Two UGA students pose for a photo with a mustang with other students in the background.

“It’s a little outside the normal landscape architecture wheelhouse,” Berglund said, “but students can use this project as a catalyst for out-of-the-box thinking. This project is all about using creative problem solving to tackle some real world, ‘wicked’ problems.”

A mustang peeks through a stall opening in the barn at Wild Mustang Ranch.

A Wicked Problem

The American mustang is a symbol of the Wild West. The image of herds of wild horses majestically galloping across the open range embody the spirit of freedom and adventure.

While the western United States might not be as wild in year 2025, thousands of mustangs still roam the landscape. According to the latest estimates from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), about 59,000 wild horses live across 10 western states. The BLM also monitors wild donkeys, or burros, which number about 14,500–a combined population of 73,500 wild equines throughout the “wild” west.

While that number may seem impressive, it indicates a major issue of overpopulation. The BLM estimates that the “appropriate management level” of these populations should be a combined 26,785–just over a third of the current number. Today’s wild equine population simply does not have enough resources or space to roam, leading to malnutrition, dehydration, and even starvation.

Unfortunately, coming up with solutions for the overpopulation issue is not so simple. It is, as Berglund calls it, a “wicked” problem—a design term for issues that are difficult or impossible to solve—and he opens it up to his students to explore.

A more timid mustang gallops around the student group visiting Wild Mustang Ranch.

“The initial portion of this project is a creative think tank,” Berglund said. “They need to think though these complex issues and bring their ideas to the class because it’s not clear how to resolve these challenges.”

This year, Berglund’s students explored a variety of ideas, including sterilization darts, ecotourism, and even the ethics of culling. Out of this research, students created infographics to educate others on these complex challenges and potential solutions.

“Our group was discussing and exploring the idea of reintroducing predators into the wild–such as mountain lions, grizzlies and gray wolves,” said Liam Silk, one of Berglund’s students from Tampa, Florida, “but there are issues and downfalls with that. There are so many aspects you don’t think about, and this experience helps you realize how much thought you have to put into it.”

One widespread solution the BLM employs is to physically remove mustangs from the wild–to give them new homes. This brings its own set of challenges, but it provides plenty of opportunities to connect this issue to landscape architecture and design.

Wolgang Skrobanek demonstrates how to move around the mustangs before Berglund's class enters the pasture at Wild Mustang Ranch

Wolfgang Skrobanek introduces a mustang to Berglund's class in the barn at Wild Mustang Ranch.

A curious wild mustang foal approaches students on Cumberland Island near some building ruins

Forming Connections

It is estimated that about 60,000 mustangs live in off-range holding facilities, such as ranches and rehabilitation centers, around the world. These wild horses are tamed and then adopted into private care. According to the BLM, more than 270,000 mustangs and burros have been adopted since 1971.

One of these facilities is Wild Mustang Ranch (WMR) in Lyons, Ga. In designing this course, Berglund connected with the team at WMR who offered the opportunity for his students to visit, meet some wild mustangs in person and see first-hand how a specialized facility operates.

During the semester, with support from the Office of Service-Learning, Berglund organized a trip to Cumberland Island, where an isolated population of wild horses also lives. The class visited WMR along the way, allowing students to observe wild horses across multiple settings.

A student takes a selfie with a mustang (with a braid in its mane)

Students pet friendly mustangs on a sunny day at Wild Mustang Ranch.

Cameron Berglund inspects a mustang's freeze brand at Wild Mustang Ranch. This method of branding stops the pigmentation of skin cells, so the hair grows back white. Each brand is unique to identify the mustang.

At WMR, Berglund’s class learned about the history and goals of the facility, the services and resources their team provides, and spent some time in the pasture meeting wild horses up close. While many horses at WMR are still wild and kept a safe distance, quite a few mustangs were happy to come over and become the center of attention.

“I knew we’d meet horses, but I didn’t know the context,” said Emma Mujezin, from Savannah. “It’s really cool to come here and pace with your feet and see with your eyes and actually comprehend what we’re going to be building.”

“My family is involved with horses, and I’ve seen domesticated horses before,” said Tristan Avera, from Chattahoochee Hills, “but it’s nice to experience and to comprehend how different the mustangs are. They are so loose and free, and they do not need as much maintenance. It makes a difference to see what these horses need.”

The WMR team toured the class around their barn, explaining how horses are moved from one space to the next, and demonstrated how they work with the wild horses. With guidance from Wild Mustang Ranch’s trainers, Sandra Williamson and Wolfgang Skrobanek, several students had the opportunity to go into a round pen and meet a wild mustang one-on-one, forming even deeper connections.

“It was definitely a feeling I’ve never felt before,” said Faye Decker, from Newnan, Ga. “If you’re nervous, they can sense your energy. I definitely felt that connection and could feel that energy.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like it before,” said Jessica Spires, from Augusta, who volunteered to experience meeting one of the mustangs. “Being one-on-one with a wild animal is almost rejuvenating. I never thought I would experience that connection.”

As the relationship with Wild Mustang Ranch continues, Berglund and the WMR team are discussing ways they can continue to work together. This year, Berglund shared the service-learning infographics his students designed with WMR to help to raise awareness, and Berglund and the WMR team are considering more landscape architecture projects directly on the ranch in the future.

“It’s an amazing relationship, and having UGA students visit is incredible,” said Alan Fowler, Wild Mustang Ranch’s golf and marketing director. “Their energy is contagious. They ask interesting questions with a lot of positivity, and it’s great to see and hear that excitement. Cameron’s class is very needed in today’s environment.”

For additional information about Wild Mustang Ranch and how you can get involved, connect with their team here.

Wild Mustang Ranch's Sandra Williamson gives a mustang a belly scratch

The class poses for a picture at Wild Mustang Ranch - with a mustang standing in the way

Sandra Williamson asks whether they should move the mustang for the group photo

Berglund's class laughs as the mustang is nudged off to the side

Berglund's class takes an unobstructed group photo with the team at Wild Mustang Ranch

Putting it All Together

With this inspiration, Berglund’s class spent the remainder of the semester working toward their final project, designing a wild mustang sanctuary and guest ranch.

“The goal of the project is to explore the possible mutual benefit of wild mustangs in a guest ranch setting,” Berglund said. “If the students can design a resort ranch that is financially viable and pair that with the ecological sustainability of a wild mustang sanctuary, it could be a win-win. The draw of the majestic mustangs could help the ranch, and the ranch could, in-turn, help house mustangs.”

Berglund points to a student's work back in the classroom

While the students’ project is fictitious, it is based off a real-world ranch Berglund has been working on professionally since 2019. The parameters are consistent for the entire class–they all work with the same 2,000-acre plot of land in Sedalia, Colorado, south of Denver–but the groups are given the freedom to explore and design the property however they wish.

There are some structures all students must incorporate, such as accommodations, activity spaces, and amenities for both horses and visitors, but where students place these is entirely up to them.

A student's concept map of the ranch they will design for their final project

The space, however, is a challenge on its own. It is far from a simple rectangular, flat plot of land and has significant changes in elevation and natural features. And, while the financial aspect is more a secondary thought for the project, students must still consider the feasibility of building their design and account for utilities and roadways and how everything is coordinated and connected in the space.

This project also allows students to practice their presentation and peer-review skills during the planning and development stages, which helps provide valuable professional experience speaking to clients and different audiences, Berglund said.

Berglund provides feedback on students' concept maps during a design critique in the studio.

“I’ve never had to think about something of this scale before,” Spires said. “The horses need more land and special accommodations, and they need connections to be able to move from the barn to the pastures safely. Because this site is so big, you have to think about how it all plays together.”

A student presents her ranch design to the class on the final critique day.

Photo by Megan Dupre

Cameron Berglund gives feedback to a student on his group's final ranch design.

A group of Berglund's students smile while giving their final presentation

Students pose for a photo on the class's final critique day

For their final presentations, Berglund’s students took over the main critique space in the Jackson Street Building and shared their vision from a semester of lasting learning experiences.

“This is the biggest site any of us have done,” said Dailey Jackson, from Jacksonville, Florida. “As much as I like master planning, this is a whole other level of master planning. This project helped with training our eye in a different way.”

“It’s been great getting experience with such a large site and playing around with physically functional spaces for horses to use,” said Charlotte Greenberg, from Kennesaw. “It’s interesting to tell a story and learn about the problems and solutions and help think of innovation in teaching and advocacy for horses. It’s rewarding to know that what we’re doing can have a big effect on advocating for horses.”