Each herd unit has a management plan (which has gone through public comment) and the outcome of those plans is something called an Appropriate Management Level 
(AML) - The AML for each Herd Management Area ranges from a minimum population level to a maximum population level in order to allow for population growth over a four- to five-year period. Looking at the BLM website about this the AML is just presented as a general population number they are trying to achieve. I guess the issue in this article is what to do with the individuals that exceed that number. - At any rate the point of all of this is that it has been studied and the public was inolved