The Sound of Silence

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I heard through the grapevine that the Medora City Council was thinking about drafting their own resolution asking The National Park Service to allow the wild horses to stay.  I called them and requested speaking time at their meeting last night.

For those of you who are not aware, the entrance to the park is right IN downtown Medora.  Local businesses are rightfully concerned about the economic impact the removal of the horses will have IF they go through with their “proposed action” – to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of horses from the park.

When my time came, I shared our experiences in Washington DC and information that was shared with me.

Our state legislators were hesitant to draft a resolution because they didn’t think it would do any good.  They are a state asking the federal government to change their proposed action. 

It turns out that SCR 4014 is now a POWERFUL tool in our advocacy toolkit.  Congressional staffers told me that if you could go deeper – getting COUNTY and CITY support, that is good too.

I explained all of this at the Medora City Council meeting last night and encouraged them to sign a resolution.  I even shared language with them that we shared with our state legislators.

The question was asked: “Why do this now when the comment period is over?”  I explained that since Theodore Roosevelt National Park did NOT give our ND legislators the extension they requested to draft and pass a resolution, that was submitted after the comment period too.  The MHA Nation also drafted their own resolution AFTER the comment period was over.

I was asked what they would do with the resolution?  Who would they send it to?

Our federal legislators: Hoeven, Cramer & Armstrong, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Secretary Haaland, and NPS Director Sams, 

There seemed to be interest and most council members seemed to be in favor.  The topic has been shelved until next month’s meeting. 

Does this matter?

EVERYTHING matters!  We only get one chance to save these horses.  This is it. 

One of the council members also said this, “I drafted this for discussion because silence is acceptance.  Are we saying that we think what the park is proposing is ok? Do we agree with it?”   She wasn’t saying they do or don’t – merely saying that she felt that the council needed to have a discussion about it. 

SILENCE IS ACCEPTANCE.

WOW!

Powerful words for sure. 

Earlier in the day, I met a woman who lives in Dickinson, ND – about 30 miles from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  She learned through our conversation JUST YESTERDAY about the park’s plans to eliminate the entire herd of horses. 

Silence on this subject from people that others have come to trust continues to cause confusion.  IF there REALLY was an issue, people believe that the heads of their pages that they follow would be sounding alarms – like all of us at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates have been.  The outlying silence on other pages has made our work harder than it needs to be.  It means that ALL of us have to be LOUDER.

SILENCE IS ACCEPTANCE.

We have ONE chance to save this herd.

Have you called and emailed Congressman Armstrong’s office today? Our meeting is in 2 days!

Are YOU one of the 10 people who will NOT remain silent today that can call and email his office TODAY?

Please send an email to his office by using this email address:  Nicholas.Tortorici@mail.house.gov  Your email can be as simple as “Please support the wild horses in TRNP.”

We are also asking that everyone CALL Congressman Armstrong’s DC office: (202) 225-2611. Again, your message should be respectful and simple: “Please ask Congressman Armstrong to support the wild horses in TRNP.”

Fun fact: You CAN leave a message after hours!

For those of you who live or do business in Medora, please mark your calendars for July 11, 2023, at 7 pm.  The Medora City Council meeting is at the Community Center.  The council wants to know what the people of Medora want and if they support them sending this resolution.  If you can’t make it to the meeting, please be sure to let your council members know before July 11^th  that you support them drafting a resolution asking Theodore Roosevelt National Park to allow a genetically viable herd of horses to remain in the park.

We ONLY get one chance to save this herd.  Saving them is going to take ALL of us and there is still A LOT of work to do!

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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.