We announced yesterday that the North Dakota House UNIANIMOUSLY passed North Dakota Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR 4014!!!
This is extremely exciting news! THAT also was ONLY possible because of all of the hard work of Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates and their followers! We hope you took a moment to give yourself a well deserved pat on the back!
So, what happens now? Several of you have written to us and asked!
Now the North Dakota Secretary of State will send copies of the resolution to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the US Secretary of the Interior, the National Park Service Director, Senator Cramer, Senator Hoeven and Congressman Armstrong.
You can view the video of the ND House presentation and vote from March 21, 2023 here: https://video.ndlegis.gov/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20230322/-1/29719
Since Theodore Roosevelt National Park falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government, all that can be done by the state of North Dakota is to ask that the horses (and longhorn cattle) be allowed to stay in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The wild horses of TRNP have gained a lot of support, but the horses are NOT safe yet!
The park is in the process of performing its Environmental Assessment (EA). That is the part where they look into the environmental impacts of what they have proposed: Total elimination of the herd of horses. They will also look at a no-action alternative – continuing to follow the outdated 1978 EA. And then they will look at other reasonable alternatives that were submitted during the public comment period.
Understand that the park is trying to support its argument to eliminate the horses. When they come back in the spring with the results of their EA, they will be letting us know what other alternatives they considered and what their decision is based on their findings in the EA process. Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, along with several other wild horse advocacy groups, have been pushing for the park to do an Environmental Impact Statement instead of an EA. Park management have stated repeatedly that they feel an EA is sufficient.
Once the park comes back with its decision, there will be another public comment period.
The park has made their objectives clear. We are all crossing everything that the outpouring of support for keeping the horses will help deter their original plan to eliminate the herd. Truthfully, there is no guarantee that they will change their mind.
For those of you who have asked about litigation, those options will be discussed with our legal team once the park shares the results of their EA. If our legal team advises us that litigation is the best option, then Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates would LOVE to litigate against the park to make sure these horses have a home for future generations!
THAT will take a whole lot of money! We are trying to be pro-active!
We have set up a few different fundraising campaigns. One is where you can direct your donation to go to a General Fund. This will include our legal fees, website expenses, Zoom subscription which supports our new educational presentations, office expenses, postage, etc. If you are able to help, you can make your donation for our General Fund here: https://secure.everyaction.com/FbY2_tNxQU6Ehc9K2RsjZw2
We would also like to have a billboard put up along I-94 with our Fighting for the Spirit of the Badlands message that will allow travelers heading to Theodore Roosevelt National Park to be informed of the park’s current plans to eliminate North Dakota’s ONLY wild horse herd! The cost is $975 per month for a 12-month commitment! You can donate to this fundraiser here: https://secure.everyaction.com/WL7a1SV34UK6ghtf5qbm-Q2
We will also be heading to Washington DC in April! We have been invited to speak at the 2nd Annual Save Our Wild Horses Conference! While we are in Washington DC, we will be meeting with as many federal officials as possible! We will be leaving them with a presentation folder and asking them to support having the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park supported under public law. This is something we have been lobbying for long before December 12th! We will also be passing out our brochures and window clings to conference participants! You can donate directly to this fundraiser here: https://secure.everyaction.com/A6JhE4imC02kPHB7i6xsAw2 You can also find out more about the conference by clicking on the image below.
You can also make a donation by clicking on the “DONATE” button on any of our Facebook posts. We also have links to GoFundMe and PayPal as well as our mailing address listed on our website: https://chwha.org/support-chwha/
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is a 501(c )(3) organization, so your donation is 100% tax deductible!
When Theodore Roosevelt National Park announced their plans to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of horses from the park, Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates started advocating from every angle possible and we have continued to lead the fight to save this herd! We have no plans of stopping until these horses have a management plan that allows for a genetically viable herd of horses AND these horses have federal protection. Your support helps us continue our fight!
Thank you again for your support and please continue to ask us any questions you may have.
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.
