Hello and Happy Wednesday!
This is one of my all time favorite photos that I have taken in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This is the late Stallion Granite’s Boy. He was born in 2004 and died in 2019. He lived his entire 15 years wild and free in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There are currently 185 other horses who may not be so lucky and if they are, they may be the last of the wild horses IN Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
There have been A LOT of great things happening FOR the horses over the last few weeks. The supporting is coming from all across the state! While each new person and organization that steps into the arena with us as we advocate for these horses helps strengthen our Fight for the Spirit of the Badlands, we still have A LOT of work to do!
We WILL have more “Calls to Action” coming again. Right now, we are all waiting PATIENTLY for the park to review all of the comment they received and for them to come back and share their Environmental Assessment (EA) with us. That EA SHOULD lead them to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) so we will see if they follow the NEPA protocol. When Theodore Roosevelt National Park comes back with their EA, we will know what the full impact of the support behind our movement is, IF ANYTHING.
While we hope Theodore Roosevelt National Park will take Governor Burgum up on his offer to utilize the resources available from the state of North Dakota, we also understand, Theodore Roosevelt National Park CAN choose to stay the course and move forward with their proposed plan to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of horses from the park.
No matter what happens when the EA comes out, Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates will be there to fight for ALL of the horses that currently call the park home.
The very first Call to Action we asked from you in this “post comment” period was to send comments into our North Dakota State legislators. TOMORROW – February 9th, they will be hearing testimony for SCR 4014 – A concurrent resolution urging the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service to modify its proposed livestock management plan, and to continue to allow for interpretative, cultural, and historical purposes a herd of longhorn steers in the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the presence of a wild horse herd in the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Have you entered your comments to our North Dakota legislators asking them to support SCR 4014? As of this morning, there were only 44 pieces of testimony that was entered. You have until 8 am CST TOMORROW (2/9/2023) to enter your testimony. We are asking that you vote in favor of SCR 4014. You can enter your testimony here: https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/bill-hearings/bh4014.html?bill_year=2023&bill_number=4014
Simply enter: Submit Testimony on the screen. That will take you to a screen to enter your information and upload your testimony. Your testimony has to be in pdf or text format. Making a pdf file is easy! You can find out how here: https://www.howtogeek.com/666835/how-to-print-to-pdf-on-windows-10/
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates will be at the capitol tomorrow to give testimony in person. You will be able to watch the testimony (and be there with us in spirit) here: https://video.ndlegis.gov/ – simply look for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 9 am CST tomorrow.
This spot in the park is one of my favorites as well. This butte changes colors from what you see here to deep blues and purples and other times the colors seem to fade out altogether. The beauty and uniqueness of this part is truly magnificent. Its beauty is enhanced by the amazing wild horses that call this park home. I have a ton of photos of this butte. None of them look as wonderful as this one with Stallion Granite’s Boy.
TOMORROW is also Giving Hearts Day!
What is Giving Hearts Day?
Giving Hearts Day is a 24-hour fundraising event for charities in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Since the first event in 2008, generous donors have given more than $138 million, 100% of which goes directly to participating charities. Over 550 charities are participating in Giving Hearts Day in 2023.
THIS was a process and a HUGE learning curve to be a part of! We are thankful to our local collaborative for helping us understand this process and make the most of this event.
You can make a Giving Hearts Day donation to Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates TOMORROW here: https://app.givingheartsday.org/#/charity/1669
The money we are raising will help us continue to advocate for the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home from every possible angle!
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.
Granite Boy
A Sabino Native American Mustang.
No old world horses carry the Sabino gene expression, it is a color gene expression found only in the breeds of horses on the American continents. Because the early colonists developed horse breeds that were already here that are indigenous to the North American continent