Exactly WHAT is it that is Wanted from the Wild Horse Population?

“Exactly what is it that is wanted from the wild horse population?”

That is a question that was asked back in 1978 by Milton Frei, the Range Specialist from the BLM that was sent in to evaluate the document that has been managing the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park since 1978.  

The actions of the park since 1978 show that they have never properly answered that question.  Admittedly, in part because the final answer to that question HAS to have public input!

It is FINALLY time to answer that question!

There is a TON of MIS-information going around about this management plan.  In all honesty and truthfulness, NONE of the organizations affiliated with TRNP have EVER gone through a process like this.  For that reason, Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates has retained legal counsel to help us properly navigate through this process.  We have done that because we KNOW how important this moment is!  The wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park have been waiting 44 years to FINALLY have that question answered! 

We are working with our legal team as well as American Wild Horse Campaign, because they have been through this process.  We plan to make posts regularly through this process as the sudden extreme increase in our website traffic shows that there is a desire for the truth.

Our lawyers sent a 15 page letter to the park that addresses many of the concerns we all share – you can find their letter in the “Library” section of our website.  They also cited several documents in that letter to back up what they are saying.  When you see “USC” that refers to United States Code.  “CFR” is the Code of Federal Regulations.  Federal documents such as those DO NOT need to be submitted as your supporting proof.  They simply need to be cited.  We are also working on a form letter that you can send in with your comments although we do believe your comment will have more impact if you develop your own personal letter.  Also, any documents cited in our lawyer’s letter that needs to be submitted as supporting documentation will be submitted to TRNP by Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, along with our organization’s letter that our legal team will help us draft. 

We want to start by breaking down the newsletter and clearing up the basic common misconceptions:

We hope that ALL of you are questioning WHY the park is choosing to classify the horses as livestock and when they followed the proper NPS procedures to classify them as such.  As our lawyers pointed out in their letter, on TRNP’s own documentation, the horses are classified as “wild horses”, “feral horses”, “invasive species” and “livestock”.  Each classification bears its own set of rules and regulations it must abide by, BUT first, just like this management plan, the public gets to voice their opinion on how we want the horses that roam freely in our national park classified.  They owe us a satisfactory answer to that question, NOT the vague response they added to their wild horse portal.

If you look at the image above, you will see that TRNP states that they are working to define the best management practices to maintain a historic scene and then THEY referenced 36 CFR 2.6.  Theodore Roosevelt National Park was set up with a historical designation.  As our lawyers pointed out in their letter, TRNP park management is well aware of what the wild horses in this area looked like.  For this reason, the ONLY horses that should be re-introduced into TRNP are the Nokota horses.

The section above is VERY IMPORTANT AND PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF MIS-MANAGEMENT OUT THERE!!  THIS is NOT a democratic process!!!!  At the end of this, the park will NOT be tallying up the votes for one of their DRAFT CONCEPTS!!!  It clearly states that these are just initial talking points they are starting this discussion from!  It also CLEARLY  states that the March 30^th meeting as well as the public comment period – which ends on April 15^th will help them “REFINE VIABLE ALTERNATIVES” AND “It is expected that the alternatives below will evolve as a result of public input, which will then be thoroughly evaluated through the development of the Plan.” THAT MEANS TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOUR HORSES IN YOUR NATIONAL PARK!!!!  If you do NOT think that this herd of 180 horses should be knocked down to 30-60 – TELL THEM!!!!!  DO NOT SIMPLY ACCEPT WHAT THEY ARE OFFERING AND “VOTE”.  If you choose to do that, you will be missing out on this literal once in 44-year opportunity TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!! MORE IMPORTANTLY – ASK THEM WHERE THE NEPA ANAYLSIS IS THAT SHOWS THAT 30-60 HORSES IS ALL THAT THE PARK CAN HOLD!!!  ASK THEM HOW THEY PLAN TO GET THE CURRENT HERD OF 180+ HORSES DOWN TO THAT RIDICULOUS NUMBER!!!

This section tells you HOW TO COMMENT!!!  In a nutshell – USE FACTS!!!!!  USE SCIENCE!!!!  You CANNOT say ABC organization did an XYZ study and found that XXX number or horses is the best answer.  WHERE IS THE PROOF?  THERE IS A WEALTH OF SCIENTIFIC PROOF IN THE 400 PAGE NAP REPORT THAT WE HAVE ADDED TO THE LIBRARY SECTION OF THIS WEBSITE!!! Our lawyers letter also gives ALL OF US a TON of information on where to get FACTS to support what you are saying.  You will notice that NO WHERE on this page are they asking for you to VOTE on which of their drafts they have published.  They know those will change!

SIGN UP FOR THE ZOOM MEETING!!!! SUBMIT QUESTIONS!!!!! EDUCATE YOURSELF IN THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PROCESS!!!! QUESTION EVERYTHING!!!!

Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is a nonprofit organization that was formed to advocate for the wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Our amazing non-profit lawyer instilled in us that our nonprofit organization BELONGS TO THE COMMUNITY IT SERVES!  THAT means ALL of you!  The information we are sharing is to help everyone navigate through this process!  ALL of this has been initiated by our legal team because YOU, our followers, have asked for CHANGE.  CHANGE IS HERE!!! Now let’s make sure they hear us LOUD AND CLEAR as we present CLEAR, CONCISE, EDUCATED, SCIENTIFIC AND DETAILED COMMENTS THAT CAN BE SUPPORTED BY FACTS!!

Please feel free to continue to message us with any questions, comments or concerns you have regarding this extremely important wild horse management process at TRNP.  If we do NOT have the answer for you, we will ask our lawyers because THIS NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION BELONGS TO ALL OF US!

We will continue to share information as we receive it and do all we can to help ALL OF US navigate through this very critical process for the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park! Please sign up to receive notifications on our home page when we update our website with new information!

Thank you for your support!