“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”
Hello and Happy Tuesday and Merry Christmas Eve to all of you that celebrate!
IT IS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS INDEED!
I just received THE BEST Christmas gift!
OUR FIRST PIECE OF LEGISLATION IS OUT OF LEGAL COUNSEL!!!!
I have tears in my eyes!
We have been working on this for the better part of this year!
We first talked about this with ND House Majority Leader Mike Lefor. Mike told me at those meetings that he finally felt like there was a way he could help us and the wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
We worked things out with Holly from Bice Policy Group who put together this amazing piece of legislation!
Before Governor Burgum left office, we sat down with his Chief of Staff, Jace Beehler, and discussed this.
Then we discussed this with Senator Josh Boschee, Senator Rummel and a few others.
We also gave copies of this to Senator Hoeven’s team when we met with them in November in Washington DC.
Everyone we have shared this with – BOTH Democrat and Republicans – seem to like this legislation!
Once we shared it and got feedback, Senator Boschee submitted the legislation to legal counsel. They have to look all legislation over before it goes to committee for hearings to make sure what we are proposing can be done within the laws of the state of North Dakota.
To give some background, have you heard about what the state of Colorado has done in their fight for the state’s wild horses?
The state of Colorado formed a working group that is made up of stakeholders from across the state – INCLUDING THE BLM – that meet regularly to discuss how best to manage the state’s wild horse herds.
You can read more about the Colorado Working Group here: https://ag.colorado.gov/animal-health/colorado-wild-horse-management-support
FUN FACT: Guess who helped create this legislation for the Colorado Working Group?
YEP! None other than our own HOLLY BICE when she was still working at AWHC!
Isn’t it SIMPLY AMAZING when a plan comes together?! (I LOVE YOU JT!!!)
To make my heart even more happy, former ND Governor Doug Burgum – who is has also been appointed as the NEW Secretary of the Interior (the department that oversees the National Park Service AND the Bureau of Land Management) – said this about what they did in Colorado in his recent interview with KX News Joel Porter:
“There’s a long list of challenges in front of anyone who steps into Interior. I would point to, there’s a point in time, there’s an opportunity where people are looking for ways to think things through differently and how to approach them. I would just point to a post from Gov. Polis from Colorado made. Here you’ve got a popular Democrat elected governor in a blue state and he posted something basically at Donald Trump and said, ‘give Colorado a chance to step in and help manage this horse situation.’ We’ve got a couple hundred in North Dakota, they’ve got tens of thousands across some of these lands across the west. And I think there’s governors from all across these western states are calling for new approaches, regardless of party. I think there’s an opportunity to think about doing things differently, a better outcome for the people, a better outcome for the land, a better outcome for the horses. This all, to me, fits under the category of innovation not regulation. I love solving problems and I love working with people and I think there are common sense solutions that we can find.”
I have to take a moment to insert here the EXTEME IMPORTANCE of educating our elected officials!!
HIS OFFICE LISTENED TO ME!!!
They had not heard about Colorado’s working group BEFORE we met. Burgum’s team shared notes from our meeting with him INCLUDING what they are doing in Colorado!
NOW – our newly appointed Secretary of the Interior is looking at the innovative planning in Colorado as a possible solution when he officially takes office.
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
THIS is how advocacy works!
While nothing is set in stone, and so much can change, BUT Burgum’s words to KX News reporter Joel Porter give me hope! You can see Joel’s whole interview with Doug Burgum here: https://www.kxnet.com/news/local-news/gov-doug-burgum-wraps-up-second-term-prepares-for-new-role-in-washington-d-c/
The North Dakota working group will be similar but different than what they did in Colorado. You will see a large amount appropriated on this legislation. That will change dramatically, and we will talk more about that at another time. We will also be suggesting that the ND Department of Commerce, who oversees ND Tourism, is the department in charge of this working group.
IF this passes, it will become part of NORTH DAKOTA STATE LAW!!
THIS is also one more step toward the federal protection we are seeking! We will share more on how this plays a role in another post as well.
PLEASE NOTE: We are sharing the legislation as it came out of legal counsel. There WILL be changes, notably the appropriated amount, as we get sponsors and co-sponsors for this legislation.
You can read the current version of the legislation by downloading the file here:
This is just ONE STEP! WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THIS PASSES!! In the coming weeks we will have some critical Calls to Action for you! This will take ALL of us to make this happen – including the need for ALL of you to submit written testimony when that time comes. Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates will be testifying in person and will be calling on others to testify with us in front of the committee as well.
So much happening! So much to be thankful for!
YES VIRGINIA – THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS!!!
Have a blessed holiday – however you celebrate!
As a reminder, this legislation work we are doing is expected to cost CHWHA $20,000! NO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS HAVE COME FORWARD TO HELP US WITH THIS BILL! As a very small 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, your donations, no matter how large or small, are what keeps us going! If you would like to help support our work on this, you can make your tax-deductible donation to CHWHA here:
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