Meeting Request

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

We want you to know that we are taking your concerns to heart.  We share those same concerns and are doing everything we can to fight for the health and genetic viability of this herd. 

A few weeks ago, in preparation for our trip to Washington DC this week, I reached out to some of my congressional contacts and asked if they could help us get meetings with Secretary Haaland’s office and/or NPS Director Sams office.  Their Department of the Interior (DOI) contacts referred us back to the regional office (Director Herbert Frost) and Superintendent Richman.

In light of the information that has been released from AWHC’s FOIA documents, I sent an email to Director Frost and Superintendent Richman.  I also cc’d our congressional contacts.  We sent the email last night and have already received emails back from our congressional contacts, thanking us for including them in this email.   We were told they are passing our email on to their DOI contacts. 

We will keep you informed of any response we receive.

We also want to say THANK YOU to all of you who took time to sign our petition!  If you have not signed it, please take a moment to add your name.  I will be taking this petition to Washington DC so we have just a couple of days to get as many signatures as possible.  You can sign the petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/1oIlqHkuUUStdjb0KjsiXg2

Thank you for all your help and support!  We appreciate each and every one of you! Together, we ARE making a difference! The letter that we sent to Director Frost and Superintendent Richman is below for you to see what we are asking of them:

Director Frost & Superintendent Richman:  

I have been asked to speak at the Save Our Wild Horses Conference in Washington DC about the wild horses in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP).  While I am there, I will be meeting with several members of congress.  As I was setting up meetings, I requested assistance from some of my congressional contacts to have an audience with the office of the Secretary of the Interior and/or the National Park Director’s (NPS) office.  Our congressional contacts reached out to their Department of Interior contacts.  They have referred me back to the regional office, as they feel that our organization’s concerns can be addressed more thoroughly by the two of you.

As I am sure you are aware, American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) recently received documents under the FOIA that have raised new questions and concerns by our followers about the management of the Theodore Roosevelt wild horses.   You can read AWHC’s blog on their website: https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/foia-records-raise-questions-sterility-theodore-roosevelt-mares?fbclid=IwAR0ieHhF_KWEfBlBVcH3ijQ2p8sgALs2cUNp9lqiaTym7MTVRXlVuwGmusk.  I have also added a copy of Patrick Springer’s article from the front page of today’s Fargo Forum for you to review. 

The NPS has long been viewed as stewards of our public lands. However, the FOIA documents have called into question the NPS’s ability to perform an objective Environmental Assessment on the future of the Theodore Roosevelt wild horses that we, the tax paying public, have entrusted in your care.

I look forward to meeting with the two of you either in person, over a video platform or on the phone to discuss the following questions:

• In light of the information obtained by AWHC, will TRNP stop using GonaCon on its female horses until the impacts of years of experimentation are revealed to the public?

• Is GonaCon research still being conducted in TRNP?  Is TRNP reporting their findings to CSU?
• How NEPA laws were followed prior to Colorado State University beginning their experimentation on the wild horse of TRNP?
• How the NPS will work to regain the trust of the public, especially with regards to future management of the wild horse herd?

• Why the NPS management, specifically Jenny Powers and Blake McCann, lied to the public regarding their knowledge of permanent sterility in some of the mares treated with GonaCon?  The public would also like to know what repercussions, if any, they will face for deliberately misleading the public.

• Why were Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates and I discussed in meetings between Blake McCann and members of the BLM? 

• What are the names of the 19 mares known to have not returned to fertility after being treated with GonaCon in 2013.

As a federal agency, the park’s “no comment” responses are not sitting well with the tax paying public.  My goal for this meeting is to try to find a way to work with you – first, to ensure a healthy and genetically viable herd of horses remains in TRNP and second, to do what we can to help repair severely severed trust in the National Park Service.  We believe that since we all obviously have a deep love for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, we should be able to find a way to work together to make it the best that it can be for every visitor.   

If you are not available for a meeting or decide to redirect me to the TRNP horse portal, I will let my congressional contacts know that our local and regional offices refuse to give our organization an audience and that we would appreciate it if they helped us pursue meetings with the NPS offices in Washington DC. 

Thank you for your consideration.  I look forward to the opportunity to meet with both of you soon.

Sincerely,
Christine Kman
President
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates

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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.