Hello and Happy Sunday!

Last week, I could NOT have asked for the stars to align more perfectly than they did!

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum just so happened to be in the same place I was and there was no way I was going to miss an opportunity to speak with him!  I have been emailing his Chief of Staff since the park made their announcement to remove the horses. 

I walked up to Governor Burgum and introduced myself.  He said he remembered me.   I said “We still need your help.  The park is still trying to get rid of the horses!” 

He told me he knew.  He said his office has been receiving THOUSANDS of emails!  Then he said, “Let’s go over here, I want you to meet my Chief of Staff.”  I let him know I had been emailing him all week.  He knew that too and said thank you. 

The three of us talked and strategized.  The Governor’s Chief of Staff, Jace Beehler – who is included in the email Call to Action we have – thanked us for all we are doing to raise awareness and educate people about this situation.  He has not only been getting emails from all of you, but he has also been reading my emails that share the FACTS about what the park is proposing and also recaps of meetings we have had with the park.  That information has been vital in helping them ask the right questions to the park and draw their own conclusions about the motives behind the park’s proposed actions. 

If you remember, in my meeting with Interim Superintendent Nancy Finley last week, I offered to have our state legislators call her or meet with her. 

That is not necessary at this time.

Governor Burgum’s office called her and will be following up with her TOMORROW (10/7/2024).

The state of North Dakota understands, as we all do, that the park may need to gather data to make informed decisions about the proper way to manage this herd (we also know that there are other ways that they can gather data without a helicopter roundup).  They are not trying to interfere with that operation. 

BUT

They did formally request that if the park moves forward with the roundup that they NOT inject ANY mares with GonaCon and that NO horses are removed from the park at this time. 

I spoke with Jace and our North Dakota state legislative leadership later in the week.  Our state legislators will not be sending a letter at this time, but when Jace follows up, he will let the park know that this request is coming from not only the Governor’s office, but our North Dakota state leadership as well.

One would think that the park would be sympathetic to concerns and requests being made by the state of North Dakota. 

We will keep you updated on any news as soon as we hear!

I want to also say here, many of you will remember that Governor Burgum stepped into the Arena with us back in January of 2023.  He has since decided not to run for re-election, so his days as Governor are coming to a close. 

He in no way had to stay in The Arena with us.  But here he is! 

He heard ALL of us! 

He loves this state and after looking at all of the FACTS – his office came to the same conclusion we did.  What the park is currently proposing is NOT in the best interest of the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park or for the state of North Dakota. 

We are so grateful to Governor Burgum and his staff for remaining engaged on this issue!

The next Governor of North Dakota will have some big shoes to fill!  You will also remember that CHWHA has spoken with ALL of the gubernatorial candidates and they have ALL promised to be as engaged as Governor Burgum has been with regards to the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 

I also made a call to the Mayor of Medora yesterday.  He asked me to keep him updated on this situation, so I let him know that I crossed paths with the Governor and everything I stated above. 

I also thanked him again.  That Medora Resolution that passed last week ABSOLUTELY helped get the attention of the Governor’s office. 

The Medora City Council wasn’t sure last week if what we asked them to pass was redundant or even necessary.  I thanked him again and let him know how important that was and asked him to please share that with the rest of the council.

Last night I also had the pleasure of running into one of our other state legislators that I had not seen in a while. 

He let me know he has been “keeping up with what you guys are doing.”  He too thanked us for our hard work and dedication.  Then he said, “We knew they were going to do this, right?!”  Yes, we did!  He also reminded me that he carried legislation on this in the last session and would be happy to help again in the 2025 ND Legislative Session. 

How amazing is it to watch all of this unfold and see the magnitude of people that are standing side by side with us in The Arena?

My heart is truly full of so much gratitude, I feel like it can explode! 

Please, do NOT take any of this as an indication that this part of the battle is over.  The park noted on their Facebook page this morning that the bison roundup is currently underway.  There are ONLY 4 days left to stop their proposed roundup for the horses and we have yet to see a formal public statement from the park saying that the roundup has been refined or suspended. 

If you have not signed our petition, please make sure we have your name!  We have collected just under 4,000 signatures in the last week!  I have been continually sending these to the Governor’s office and our federal legislators.  We ONLY need you to sign this once.  You can sign the petition here: https://secure.everyaction.com/4dmUjJg8pk2-feWZLe8-pg2

Now that you know that the very simple, one click email link we gave you matters – please take a moment to make sure that our state and federal legislators hear from you!  Yes! You are welcome to do this action as many times as you like! Here is the link to send your email: https://secure.everyaction.com/yd5efKrSlkawCMSXp97IvA2

Letters to the Editor continue to be printed in North Dakota’s newspapers from followers all across the WORLD!  Contact info for our newspapers can be found in this blog: https://chwha.org/2024/09/28/call-to-action-6/

This has been a hiccup in the bigger battle we are fighting.  Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates has been working ALL year on state and federal legislation to help get these horses the protection they deserve.   We need your help to make that happen.  We have hired Bice Policy Group to help us draft legislation and lobby Congress when the time comes to help make sure that these horses, and all of us NEVER have to go through things like the last 2 years and this last week EVER AGAIN.  The ONLY way to make sure that happens is with federal legislation.  I also want to note that Holly has been instrumental this past week in helping get a resolution for the City of Medora to vote on and a few other things we have asked from her.  Just like anyone else who does any job – she needs to be paid too.

We hope that now that the events of this past week have shown that the park is NOT finished with their attempts to get rid of the horses, that you will do what you can to help support our critical advocacy work. 

There are several ways you can do this! 

You can make a monetary donation here: https://secure.everyaction.com/cBmDbRA6cUuzERpShcQOCg2

Many of you have asked, and yes, you can make a Paypal donation here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=YM4YWW5D4CRRY&fbclid=IwAR05vEvFkOq4eiOrT6Ufm4WlRCYclSli-k6Uu5_mxKHwoJoS57dFRnsekBY

We also are planning a couple of silent auctions – one in October and one in December.  You can find information on donating items here: https://chwha.org/get-involved/ I have had a lot of donations come in and as soon as I have a free moment, I will update the site so you can see some of the GREAT items being donated to help these horses!

Sharing our posts is also a great way to get this information in front of people.  As we have seen this past week, you NEVER know who is paying attention to the information we are putting out there.

THANK YOU ALL for your hard work and dedication for this amazing herd of wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home.  What has happened over the last week has been nothing short of amazing and I am proud of each and every one of you!

Pat yourselves on the back and enjoy this moment – but please, don’t put your guard down and remain as diligent as you have been!  This is NOT over yet! 

---