Hello and Happy Monday!

If you remember, back in May, we had a meeting with the Department of the Interior that included Associate Deputy Secretary Karen Budd-Falen and NPS Regional Director Bert Frost.  We discussed several of our concerns with Karen and she promised to bring our concerns to Secretary Burgum and get back to us with his response.

We received a response from Karen last week.  We have also responded to her, asking for answers on other issues she did not address and also giving additional facts about the collars and GonaCon, asking for Secretary Burgum to reconsider.

Her email to our organization is below along with our response.  We will keep you updated when we hear back from her. 

We hope this shows you that we still have A LOT of work to do to make sure the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park continue to not only survive but thrive for generations to come.  The aggressive use of GonaCon makes their future questionable. 

Please consider making a tax deductible donation to help support our critical advocacy work.  We still need your help to keep our organization going!  You can make your tax deductible donation here: https://secure.everyaction.com/wnK6YjHlTkCC2Aq57_7srQ2

Thank you for your support and have a great night!

Karen’s follow-up email to our meeting:

Dear Chris:

I apologize for taking so long to have my conversation with the Secretary and then getting back to you.  I have had this information for several weeks now and I should have responded to you sooner.  Based on my conversation with Secretary Burgum, I can report the following:

Secretary Burgum’s support for the wild horses at the Theodore Rosevelt National Park has not changed from when he was Governor of North Dakota.  Since 2017, then-Governor Burgum defended the year-round recreation that make the wide-open spaces of North Dakota an unforgettable adventure, including the state’s wild horses.  For example, in then-Governor Burgum’s 2017 welcome letter to North Dakota tourists, he highlighted the state’s wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and their role in having the site named one of the top destinations in the world in 2016.  Throughout his time in office, then-Governor Burgum urged the federal government to find a way to manage the wild horses in a manner and herd size that supports genetic diversity and protects the environmental integrity and capacity of the park for current and future generations.  As late as January 30, 2023, then-Governor Burgum, joined by tourism officials, state legislators and other stakeholders, held a press conference to defend the state’s wild horses.  At that press conference then-Governor Burgum stated, “For decades upon decades, these horses have coexisted peacefully with the national park and, in the process, have become a hugely popular attraction and an indelible symbol of the untamed character of the Badlands.”  He also stated that “Removing these horses from the park, or reducing the herd size to a level that fails to support genetic diversity and longevity, would strike a blow not only to park visitation but also to the economic vitality of Medora, nearby communities including Dickinson, and our entire state.”  In a letter to NPS, then-Governor Burgum further called for collaboration with the federal government to defend the wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  As you know, at that time, based on that support from the state, the National Park Service backed down on plans to remove wild horses from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Neither Secretary Burgum nor I have heard of any other proposal from the NPS to remove horses from the Park.

Secretary Burgum is also a strong supporter of sound scientific research and data gathering to support NPS decision making.  That includes leaving the collars on the 15 horses in the Park.  Those collars are providing important and reliable information to the NPS and the public which can be used in future management decisions.  While he appreciates your offer to use human observers to track the movement of the wild horses in the Park, there is no question that human observers will not provide the qualify of data and information as the information gained from the tracking collars.  In addition, tracking collars like these are used on wildlife across the nation to provide hard data to land and wildlife managers.  Any decisions by the NPS based on the data gained from these collars will be made in a public forum, so you and other members of the public can be assured that you will have input IF there is a proposal to change management of the horses at the Park.  Again, please note however, the Secretary supports a strong and healthy wild horse herd at the Park, so any data learned from the collars will support that strong and healthy herd.

Finally, you asked to stop the use of Gonacon on the horses at the Park.  Gonacon was developed at Colorado State University and has been used on the horses at the Park since 2009.  Although Gonacon has to be administered every two years, in this case, it is a better alternative than PZP which has to be administered every year.  And as stated above, while the Secretary continues with his strong support to maintain a healthy genetically diverse herd of horses at the Park, allowing an uncontrolled expansion of the population will not meet the goal of a healthy population.

Finally, you asked about the Secretary’s position on a bill from the North Dakota Senator Hoeven to support wild horses in the Park.  Although we cannot comment on exact bill language that we have not seen, the Secretary supports wild horses in the Park and will convey that once we see the draft bill’s language.

Should you have any questions, please let me know.

Karen Budd-Falen

Department of the Interior

Our response to Karen’s email:

Karen ~

Hello and thank you for taking the time to follow up with me after our meeting in May.  I appreciate you sharing our concerns with Secretary Burgum.

Our organization worked closely with Secretary Burgum’s office, when he was governor of North Dakota, so we are aware of his prior commitment to the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  I was under the impression that we had formed a mutual respectful relationship with each other through our advocacy for North Dakota’s only wild horse herd.  This was shown to me when North Dakota Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR-4014 passed in 2023, Governor Burgum held a bill signing for the resolution, even though it was not necessary for him to even sign the resolution.  He handed me the signed copy that day.  The signed copy is framed and hangs in my office as a wonderful reminder of how our state government could come together to advocate for North Dakota’s only wild horse herd. 

Secretary Burgum’s past history of being such a strong advocate for North Dakota’s wild horses gave our organization, our followers and even our state legislators hope for the future of our wild horses.  Our state legislators believed that we would not have to worry about our wild horses being threatened with being removed or even continued mismanagement of our horses with Secretary Burgum now at the helm of the DOI.  Our state legislator’s sentiments about this were seen clearly during the 2025 North Dakota legislative session.

In my last meeting with Secretary Burgum as governor of North Dakota, we were discussing the park’s plans to conduct an unnecessary roundup in October of 2024.  As I shared information the park discussed with me, he turned to his chief of staff and said (about the park), “Do you see how they take things and twist them to fit their narrative.”  It was clear he was highly upset with the National Park Service and more specifically, the management of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Our organization believed that Secretary Burgum, as head of the DOI, would be instrumental in correcting the very things that upset him as governor of North Dakota.  Our state legislators even let me know that during their last meeting with Secretary Burgum as governor of North Dakota, they asked him to not forget our wild horses.  He promised he would not forget them.

Now, based on your email from last week, it seems that Secretary Burgum is NOT the same ally we and these horses had over the last 3 years. Based on what he told our state legislators on his way to Washington DC, I find it hard to believe that he has forgotten the horses.  Our organization believed that he would work to change the things about the NPS that upset him so much as governor and not support their false narratives. This is heartbreaking not only as an advocate that worked so closely with his office as governor, but also as a North Dakotan who believed he would remain an ally for North Dakota’s only wild horse herd. 

I have a few comments on your responses to me.  I do hope this dialog will continue, as I do not feel that my questions were answered.

1  While I would not have an issue if GonaCon was being used the way that science dictates, the reports I shared with you, created by the park, show that they are giving most of the mares GonaCon EVERY YEAR, NOT every 2 years as you state the current protocols require.  This is just another attempt to sterilize the herd and halt reproduction of this herd.  Blake McCann has even admitted that even if they take mares off GonaCon now, they do not know if they will ever return to fertility.  This continued abuse of GonaCon on this herd is impacting the genetic diversity and longevity of this herd.  Something you noted in your email that Secretary Burgum was still very strongly against those things being compromised.  How and why is this still being allowed? This is why we are requesting that PZP be used as it is known to be reversible, and the park is already darting mares yearly, by their own reports and admission. 

2.      I also gave you a petition with over 6,000 names of concerned citizens who are tired of this herd being experimented on.  That is all these collars are – one more experiment on these horses.  Regional Director Bert Frost showed the park’s hand in our meeting with you back in May when he stated that the horses are ruining their old habitats, forcing them into new ones, another completely false narrative.  He stated that, “This tells us that there are too many horses in the park.”  I will also remind you that Governor Burgum was firm on the fact that this park can easily handle 200 horses on 49,000 acres of land.  The collars will end up being nothing more than another way for the park to find a reason to eliminate horses from the park.  I will respectfully disagree with your statement:  “there is no question that human observers will not provide the qualify of data and information as the information gained from the tracking collars.”  There is no quality of data being received from the collars.  Human observers can bear witness to why horses are in any given area at any given time.  i.e. looking for water, issues with bachelor stallions or other band stallions, seasonal movement, etc.  The collars are only showing movement, not why they are moving.  Humans are also able to give real time data.  The last update the park shared with the public from the data received from the collars was on July 2, 2025.  The data shared was from March and April of 2025.  This data is neither timely nor relevant.  I will ask again that Secretary Burgum respects the wishes of the tax-paying public that regularly come to this park to enjoy the horses and have these collars removed. 

3.      You did not answer the question about having the livestock classification changed for these horses.  Our lawyers have asked for years for the documentation showing that the park properly changed their classification.  Since we still do not have that paperwork, we assume that it is because it does not exist.  This classification was the driving force for the park to try to eliminate the horses back in 2022.  We want to eliminate any similar future threats to the horses and have their classification changed back to what it has always been: a historic and culturally significant herd.

4.      You also did not respond to my questions about our FOIA request that we were told is now at the DOI.  We have been waiting years for a response to this appeal and hope that in light of President Trump’s promise to be the most transparent administration, that we might finally get a proper response to this request.

As we come closer to the nation’s 250^th birthday celebration and the historic opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library next year, the focus on the continued mismanagement of these wild horses will only intensify.  Visitors to the library and then to TRNP will continue to question and be outraged at the continued experimentation on this herd both with these tracking collars and especially the continued aggressive use of GonaCon.  Everyone loves to see the animal babies when they visit the park.  The public will be upset at the lack of foals they are able to see as GonaCon continues to significantly reduce the number of foals born every year and the park continues their agenda to “halt the reproduction of this herd”.  Please note, as of today in 2025, only 5 foals have been born to this herd.   It will be equally upsetting for North Dakotans especially to learn that Secretary Doug Burgum, once a staunch advocate for these horses, according to your email, now seems to be supporting the ongoing mismanagement of this historic wild horse herd. 

Thank you for your consideration.  I look forward to hearing Secretary Burgum’s response to these concerns.  As always, I am available to speak with you, Secretary Burgum directly, or any representative from his office to resolve these issues.

Sincerely,

Christine Kman
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates 

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