On February 14, 2013, The North Dakota State Senate Natural Resources Committee heard arguments to introduce SCR 4011.
SCR 4011 was a resolution presented to the North Dakota Senate that was explained as:
“A concurrent resolution urging the National Park Service to recognize the
historical value of the Nokota horse and provide for its appropriate management in
Theodore Roosevelt National Park. “
The committee minutes regarding the introduction of SCR 4011 in the North Dakota State Senate, those in attendance in favor of the introduction of this resolution included:
ND Senator Erbele from District 28, who introduced the resolution.
Frank Kuntz, Vice President of the Nokota Horse Conservancy.
Leo Kuntz, President of the Nokota Horse Conservancy.
Tracy Potter who was a former legislator, former director of tourism and a historian.
Shelly Hauge, Nokota Horse Conservancy.
Christa Kuntz, Nokota Horse Conservancy.
In addition to these people speaking up in favor of preserving these historical horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, they also offered research, interviews and testimonies from Castle McLaughlin, Robert Utley and others to support the reasons why this resolution should be adopted.
Those in attendance that were in opposition of the adoption of Resolution SCR 4011 included:
Valorie Naylor, who was the current Superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Mike McEnroe, representing the ND Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
Marylu Weber, President of North Dakota Badlands Horse.
Included in the opposition was a letter written by Bob Fjetland, who identified himself as a lifetime resident of the state of Minnesota.
It was noted that this resolution was being presented to the ND State Senate and that the National Park Service was a Federal Agency. Senator Triplett noted that even if they passed this resolution, the NPS would not have to do anything.
Frank Kuntz stated that he realized that but felt that passing this resolution would show that the state was concerned.
The hope was that if this was adopted at a state level, it would be easier to get legislators on a federal level to review and adopt a similar policy.
We will look at the arguments for and against this resolution as well as discuss the final outcome and its implications for the horses In Theodore Roosevelt National Park over the next few days.
The entire document is available to download in the library section of our website.