Hello and Happy Saturday to you! We are continuing our blogs hoping to shed some light on what is happening and why at TRNP with our wild horses.

As we have stated in previous posts, the proposed removal of the ENTIRE herd of wild horses at TRNP has been something that Theodore Roosevelt National Park has been working on for quite some time. 

We wanted to start with a narrative from a research paper that we think you will find as interesting as we do….

“”xxx” have caused many ecological and economic damages as a nonindigenous species where they have been introduced around the world”

“High reproductive potential, adaptability to varying habitats, and capability to expand their range after introduction have allowed feral “xxxx” to successfully colonize a variety of landscapes”

“originated from domestic “xxx” introduced to the area by 18th-century Spanish”

“considering the limited food resources for native wildlife at “xxx”, feral “xxx” were viewed as potential competitors with native animal species”

“it is believed that “xxx” have facilitated dispersal of nonindigenous plant species throughout the monument by exposing soil for colonization”

“We hope that the success of this feral “xxx” eradication program in a mainland setting encourages their eradication at other locations around the world. Considering the cost of perpetual control of feral “xxx” and their continued damaging effects even when controlled, eradication is a preferable alternative.”

We have all heard these things before, haven’t we?

Oh wait! 

Did you think we were talking about wild horses in ANY capacity here?

I am sorry!  The “xxx”’s listed above are where we took out the word “pigs”.

Confused?

Let’s start at the beginning!

What we have shared here today are excerpts from an article written in 2008 about the eradication of feral pigs from Pinnacles National Monument (PNM).  PNM is also managed by The National Park Service. 

Even more interesting: One of the authors of this paper is none other than Blake McCann!  Blake McCann started at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 2013 as a wildlife biologist.  After a few promotions, he is now the Chief of Resource Management.  He has been talking about reducing the herd of horses in TRNP since at least 2015.  Do you think it is possible that his “success” in eradicating the feral pigs from PNM is exactly why he was brought to Theodore Roosevelt National Park? 

We also want to share a photo of Blake McCann speaking to a group of people in the summer of 2016.  We were not present at this meeting, but this photo is available on the internet.  People we have talked to that were at this meeting said that in 2016, he talked then about the need to reduce this herd to 35-60 horses. 

What followed was the constant removal of young horses, aged 4 months old to 3 years old, while we were being left with an older herd of horses.  HUNDREDS of young horses have been captured and sold from 2015-2021!  Many of those older members that were left have been slowly dying out over the last few years, with much more to come. 

The Park went unchallenged for YEARS!

In 2020, we fought to STOP removals in light of the global pandemic and economic recession. It took some work, but we were finally successful! 

In 2021, only 4 horses were removed before severe drought conditions demanded the attention of Park staff.  Not to mention that we would have had some strong opposition to removals being done and horses being held for weeks in a fenced area with such severe drought conditions! 

The point of all of this is to show you that plans have been in place for a very long time.  Dr. Castle McLaughlin’s research on the horses in this area shows a long history of Theodore Roosevelt National Park trying to eliminate the horses from the boundaries of the Park! Her report can be read in the research library section of our website: https://chwha.org/library/

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter WHO is in charge – if Superintendent Richman or Blake McCann are removed from their positions, they will more than likely be transferred to another park, with a promotion no doubt, while someone else is brought in to carry out the marching orders to eliminate the horses. 

This fight is NOT to remove people from their positions. REAL change is only going to happen when the Park is forced to change their policy and perspective with regards to the wild horses .

You can read Blake McCann’s paper for yourself here:

Oh yeah, interestingly, he also wrote another paper on the same subject again in 2018!

Just food for thought.  We find the similarities between Blake’s last NPS assignment and this one quite interesting! Also interesting is the narrative being used as they try to eliminate another species from the boundaries of another national park. 

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

Thank you for your support!

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