“Silence isn’t neutral—it’s betrayal. When politicians, community leaders, and ordinary citizens ignore, allow, or cheer on lies, they aren’t just complicit. They’re worse than the liars themselves. Stand up. Speak out.”
~ George Stamatis
Hello and Happy Saturday to everyone!
THANK YOU to the over 1800 people (so far) who have taken a moment to take action and send an email to the members of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on National Parks. As a reminder, you can send this email as many times as you like. You also do not have to live in North Dakota or even the US! ANYONE – ANYWHERE – can send this email. You can take this quick action here: https://secure.everyaction.com/T36FlnIDpka4ZwpjPdfCIg2
This is NOT the time to be silent. This is not the time to be complicit.
This IS the time to make sure you have done your homework and know that the information you are receiving is correct.
We have been working since April of 2024, when the park announced their plans to abandon their management planning process that called for the elimination of the TRNP horses, on getting federal legislation. If we are being honest, this is something we have been asking our federal legislators for LONG before our battle that began over the last 3-4 years.
This process is confusing and can be quite overwhelming. One thing that we here at CHWHA pride ourselves on is making sure we are giving you factual information – NOT just our opinion.
To that end, we have been talking about federal legislation in great detail, since October. There is a blog series you can find on the home page of our website (www.chwha.org) that discusses the issues we see with S1377 – The Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horse Protection Act, and the amendments we are requesting. We would NEVER ask you to sign something blindly. The information we are requesting is and has been on the homepage of our website since October.
Those are the amendments we are asking you to take action and support.
Because of our consistent and continued work on this legislation, we were alerted to the committee meeting on Tuesday. After our announcement on Thursday that there was FINALLY movement on this legislation, other pages jumped on the bandwagon and have been making posts that are nothing more than misinformation.
For starters – THIS IS THE TIME to ask for amendments. And asking for those amendments is our civic duty! We send legislators to Washington, DC to create the changes we want in our society. If we don’t tell our elected officials what we want – then they think what they are doing satisfies us.
This legislation is in the beginning of its journey through a very long process. Now, at the beginning, is ABSOLUTELY the time to try to get the changes we are seeking.
Senator Hoeven agrees. His senior staff members called me personally yesterday to discuss the hearing and make sure that we sent our amendment requests into the committee. That is quite different than the misinformation that has been stated on other pages who are trying to sway their followers from sending any communication to Congress or taking our one click action citing that Senator Hoeven’s office didn’t want to hear from any of you. After spending YEARS speaking directly with Senator Hoeven’s office, I can personally tell you with great certainty that his office would NEVER try to deflect ANYONE from their civic duty and right. ARE WE REALLY SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS DO NOT WANT TO HEAR FROM THEIR CONSITUENTS???!!! THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT WE WANT UNLESS WE TELL THEM!!!
Another piece of misinformation being shared by other pages states that Senator Hoeven hopes to get this legislation passed this year (2025). That is feasibly IMPOSSIBLE! The truth is, Senator Hoeven’s office wants to get this legislation passed during THIS CONGRESS! This Congress ends in January of 2027. THAT makes the passage of this legislation absolutely feasible!
For clarification, we are also ONLY asking that you contact Senate members who serve on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on National Parks, which is who our one click action SPECIFICALLY targets. IF this legislation DOES NOT get past this committee – no other members of Congress will even know S1377 existed! I will add those Senators and their contact information at the end of this blog. Again, you can take this one click action as many times as you like AND you can leave messages all weekend at their offices asking them to support our amended version of S1377.
CHWHA ALWAYS works from the position of what is best for the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park Home. Anyone who looks at this current legislation can easily see that as it is written, it does not give these horses the protection they need. The legislation leaves a lot to interpretation and does not guarantee that the current horses that have evolved to survive and thrive in the rugged Badlands of North Dakota are the ones who will always be there.
I’ll end with a bonus quote:
“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”
~ Adlai E. Stevenson II
Reminder time:
Our online silent merchandise auction ends TOMORROW (12/7/2025) You can view the over 100 items in this auction AND place your bids here: https://chwha.betterworld.org/auctions/2025-chwha-winter-auction
Please consider making a donation to help support our critical advocacy work! Things like the Op-Ed in today’s Bismarck Tribune, flyers we will be passing out this weekend and other advertising to raise awareness about our advocacy work cost money. You can support us by making your tax-deductible donation here: https://secure.everyaction.com/wnK6YjHlTkCC2Aq57_7srQ2
Donations can also be made via PayPal here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XNYNCNVLTULGC
Thank you for your support and have a great day!
The Senate Subcommittee on National Parks committee members are listed below along with their DC office numbers.
Senator Barrasso (Wyoming) – 202-224-6441
Senator Daines (Montana) – 202-224-2651
Senator Cassidy (Louisiana) – 202-224-5824
Senator Murkowski (Alaska) – 202-224-6665
Senator Hirono (Hawaii) – 202-224-6361
Senator King (Maine) – 202-224-5344
Senator Gallego (Arizona) – 202-224-4521
Senator Hoeven (North Dakota) – 202-224-2551
Remember, if you choose to call these offices, always be respectful when you call. The person answering the phone can take your message.
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