I am working on my comment letter to our North Dakota senate as I prepare for my in person testimony on February 9th. This is a first for me, so I am nervous!
As I am writing, I am very proud of all we have accomplished together! It has been almost 2 months since Theodore Roosevelt National Park announced their plans to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of horses from the park!
Somewhere along the way I came across a quote by John Bytheway “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch. Yard by yard, life’s hard.”
Over the course of this last month, every time I felt like NOTHING WAS HAPPENING, I would say “inch by inch” to myself. That would remind me that we were making progress – just much slower than any of us liked!
I remember back and forth conversations with the North Dakota state senators. There were days when we were talking about them drafting a resolution and the struggle on WHO would sponsor it. There were days when the conversation became “Maybe we will just send a letter and NOT draft a resolution.”
ALL of us persisted. At one point, one of the senators sent me an email saying, “Please spread the word, I am on your side.” That came from all of the phone calls and emails that we as a group sent.
Now we have Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR 4014! A resolution in the North Dakota Senate that is sponsored by SIX of our North Dakota legislators!
The birth of SCR 4014 is also what helped get the attention of Governor Doug Burgum and our federal delegates, Senator Cramer and Senator Hoeven. THAT is also what helped there be a conversation with all of them AND NPS Director Sams this past week!
Inch by inch!
There are A LOT of other things happening behind the scenes! We will share them as we can. There are a lot of people and organizations that are coming forward to stand with us and help us as we continue to Fight for the Spirit of the Badlands!
The park is in the process of reading through their comments and will be beginning their Environmental Assessment (EA) soon. They are expected to come back in the spring with the results of the EA, which HOPEFULLY leads to them doing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
These horses are NOT safe until they have a proper management plan in place. We will find out when the park comes back with the EA what other alternatives they considered.
It is VERY important that this issue stay in the forefront of people’s minds. Our beloved TRNP horses are NOT safe yet.
There are several things we are doing at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates to keep things in the public’s eye. We will begin sharing some of that this week as well as other ways you can help!
Right now, we need everyone to comment to our North Dakota legislators. We added information in yesterday’s blog on how to submit your comments: https://chwha.org/2023/02/04/scr-4014-2/.
We also need your help!
February 9th is also Giving Hearts Day in North Dakota! Giving Hearts Day falls on the second Thursday in February every year and takes place on February 9 this year. Do you know that it has been 13 years since Giving Hearts Day was first observed? Giving Hearts Day is an opportunity to donate as much as possible to charity organizations and those in need.
EVERY $10 COUNTS! You can schedule your donation any time between now and February 9th for Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates by clicking on this link: https://app.givingheartsday.org/#/charity/1669 . You can also mail your check to us at:
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates
P.O. Box 3562
Dickinson, ND 58602
**Please put For Giving Hearts Day in the memo section of your check.
Your donation will go a long way in helping to support our advocacy work!
THANK YOU to everyone who has already scheduled their donations!
Thank you for your support and have a GREAT day!
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is committed to advocating for a wild horse management plan and protection for these unique wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home! We are fighting for a management plan that is guided by science especially when it comes to decisions regarding the removal of horses and the administration of birth control. Many other wild horse management plans have proven to be successful with their science-based plans. We are asking for the same for this amazing group of wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home.