“We live in a culture where housing subdivisions spread across open space and forested lands. Instead of walking along deer tails and seeing foxes, mourning doves, pheasants, and other wildlife, we now live on paved streets named in honor of the animals that can no longer live there. Perhaps the U.S. Department of the Interior can create a museum where stuffed replicas of wild bison, horses, and burros can be put on display so schoolchildren can visit and learn about the animals that were so important to the development of the West. In the gift shop, tourists could purchase copies of the books of Karl May and Zane Grey so that young readers can once again have their thoughts filled with wonderful stories about the romance of the West and the freedom and independence of the wild, free-roaming horses and burros that once roamed the western plains.”
~ Alan J. Kania
Hello and Happy Friday to everyone!
That was the last paragraph of the book I was reading on Wild Horse Annie by Alan Kania. What a thought, huh?
This book was written over 10 years ago, yet those words are just as relevant today as they were then.
How do we change that?
There are a number of things we gave you that can help just this week! I wanted to “rewind” the week for you and remind you about some Calls to Action we had this week and also offer a NEW one! I also wanted to share a few things that happened just this morning!
I was able to squeak in a quick meeting with our North Dakota House Majority Leader, Mike Lefor. He has been extremely busy and I am always grateful for his time and support.
I have been working with Representative Lefor, trying to be PROACTIVE and find ways that the State of North Dakota can help protect the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I have thrown a few different ideas at Mike over the last couple of months, but today, we made some progress! I carefully presented a NEW idea to him, and he actually LOVED it! We are a long way from talking about it out loud, but the beginnings of something great is at the starting line! He gave me some “homework” to do, which I will gladly do and we will continue this conversation as this new proposal continues to evolve! I promise to share more when I can. Just keep those fingers crossed! I think we have a winner here for the 2025 Legislative session! Even more importantly, Representative Lefor thinks so too!
Yesterday I received an email from Jay Thomas of the W-DAY Jay Thomas Show asking if I had some time to update his listeners on what is currently happening with the TRNP wild horses. Jay is great and it is wonderful to have his support! If you missed it, you can listen if you click here fast forward to 48:54: https://www.wdayradionow.com/show-episodes/75154-jay-thomas-show-drive-inns-driving-violations-and-graffiti-4-11-24?fbclid=IwAR0ewtBJgv82Eeq42Aen6ql4D92ib0NBzbhipVQfKagnpudt1aF7nf8FnRk_aem_AZ5sMYt2kCWElaA5mjg3jXnI_DfOdUzedtjwXlM0DIM9Yw05ZwsIiNU69PSEuBp0O7xbeq9yIJ2NQ33ufPwHSzYA
One thing that came up on the Jay Thomas Show was Congressman Armstrong’s position on the horses and if he would be as supportive as Governor Burgum as been for the TRNP wild horses IF he is the next governor of North Dakota. I have been discussing this with our state legislators, who assure me that they are discussing it with Congressman Armstrong. Jay Thomas promised to talk to him about it too next time he was on his show.
Congressman Armstrong has a NEW campaign website: https://www.armstrongnd.com/
A NEW Call to Action for everyone – please use the contact form and/or the email address provided on the website link above to ask him where he stands with the TRNP wild horses and if we can expect the same support from him as we have received from Governor Burgum if he is elected. There is STILL a battle for the Republican nominee, so this is a GREAT time to hold his feet to the fire and ask! Be sure to use the form/email above. There are strict rules about him using his congressional offices to answer questions about his gubernatorial campaign.
Remember, a reoccurring message we are trying to share is that our elected officials have no idea what is important to us if we don’t tell them. Make sure he knows this is important to you!
We have a couple of other Calls to Action we created for you this week:
One is to contact your members of Congress and request an Appropriations Programmatic Request form from them. You can email them yourselves and ask for the form, or you can use the link we provided that will send an email directly to your representatives: https://secure.everyaction.com/76ko_N6yk02qHB30n2nbkw2 You can hear more information about this in our Horse Talk from Monday: https://youtu.be/lBY9Rl-Mgq4
We are working on a date for a NEW Horse Talk to let you know how to fill out this form for next week. We will let you know as soon as we have worked out a date.
We also asked that you contact your members of Congress and ask them to support a letter being circulated by Representatives Titus, Cohen and Schweikert. You can find the details in our blog: https://chwha.org/2024/04/09/please-contact-your-congressman/
We encourage you to email your representatives directly, but we also created an easy link for you to contact your representatives and President Biden and Vice President Harris: https://secure.everyaction.com/kEiYtVCdq0Cgqz1ru-plJg2
Don’t forget to join our NEW Facebook Group: Wild Horse Advocacy Actions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/398665996232440
This is a great way to share your experiences contacting your representatives as well as ask questions from like-minded people and share pertinent information.
If you are enjoying the quotes we are sharing from the Wild Horse Annie book by Alan Kania, don’t miss your chance to win your very own! Through the month of April, every $5 donation you make will enter you in a chance to win either Alan Kania’s book or the children’s version of Wild Horse Annie. We will announce a winner on May 1st! There are a number of ways you can make a donation listed on our website: https://chwha.org/support-chwha/ You can also make a donation now by clicking here: https://secure.everyaction.com/FbY2_tNxQU6Ehc9K2RsjZw2 The way this works is for every $5 donation you make, you get one entry, so if you donate $20, you will have 4 chances to win.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who has made a donation for our Spring Silent Auction! If you have items you would like to donate, you can make your donation here: https://chwha.betterworld.org/donate-an-item This auction will run from April 21-28, 2024.
We still have A LOT of work to do to save the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Any way that you can help support our critical advocacy work is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for your support and have a GREAT weekend!
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