Hello and Happy Wednesday!

This is it!  Today, we say goodbye to 2025!

It seemed to be a quieter year for us here at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates.  We were actually busier than ever!

Even before the park announced that they were abandoning their plans to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of wild horses from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, CHWHA has been working hard to get these horses the federal protection they deserve. 

Those plans were kicked into high gear in April of 2024 when the Park’s Environmental Assessment ended. 

At that time, back in 2024, we started by speaking with our state legislators about the need for federal protection for this herd.  North Dakota’s state legislators are only in session for 80 days every other year, in odd years.  This meant that 2025 was an opportunity for a new session and hopefully the passage of new legislation. 

We worked with our state legislators throughout 2024 to draft what became known as Senate Concurrent Resolution SCR 4006.  Our early work on this legislation meant that it would be easy to get the legislation through the legal process and then introduced into the 2025 session and meet all of the required deadlines easily.

In March of 2025, SCR 4006 passed both the ND House & Senate!  This resolution very simply was a request to our North Dakota federal legislators asking for federal protection for the wild horse of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 

In April of 2025, North Dakota Senator John Hoeven introduced S1377 – The Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horse Protection Act.  The need for federal legislation for this herd is something we have been speaking to Senator Hoeven’s office about long before the 2022 Environmental Assessment process began!

CHWHA was excited about the introduction of this piece of federal legislation, but we do believe that it needs to be amended to make sure that the wild horses of TRNP get the BEST piece of federal legislation possible.  We have been in regular communication with Senator Hoeven’s office.  CHWHA has also gained the support of over 27 different organizations/groups who have joined us in our request for these amendments.  If you would like to add your name to our list of organization/group support, please email us at info@chwha.org

The next step for the legislation is to get a vote on the full US Senate floor.  If it passes the Senate floor vote, then it moves over to the House and the whole process starts again.

Please make sure you check back for updates on IF CHWHA and our partners are able to get this legislation amended in the US Senate and if the final version that will be voted on is legislation our organizations can support.  The best way to stay up to date is to subscribe to our blog.  This can be done on the homepage of our website at www.chwha.org

There is still A LOT of work to be done to get this legislation across the finish line!  We will need everyone’s support to get this legislation amended and passed in a way that benefits the wild horses of TRNP. 

One of our most notable events this year was having a virtual meeting with Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum’s office.  We were able to meet with a high ranking official from his office to discuss our concerns about the current management of the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  Shortly after that meeting, Theodore Roosevelt National Park named a new park superintendent in 2025. 

We have had some meetings with Superintendent Rachel Daniels.  We are also in regular communication with her.  We were happy to hear her say that she was committed to a positive path forward with our organization.  We are also happy to see the park embracing the horses and talking about them on social media. 

We kicked off 2025 with our first ever Wild Horse & Burro Virtual Summit!  It was a huge success!  The biggest piece of feedback we received was to spread out the speakers.  You asked, we listened! 

This year’s summit will take place throughout the entire month of January!  Every Saturday and Sunday, 3-4 speakers will be giving different presentations.  We also have a few presentations that will be held on Mondays and Fridays. The summit starts THIS WEEKEND!!! (1/3-4/2026)

The goal of this summit is to help educate advocates and also help give everyone information on different herds and organizations along with ways you can help. 

Just like last year, this event is FREE!  You do need to register for each event you wish to attend.  You can see the schedule of speakers and sign up on our website here: https://chwha.org/2026-wild-horse-summit/ We are still finalizing a few speakers so be sure to check back!

All videos will also be available on our YouTube channel soon after the presentation.  You can view all the current videos on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ChasingHorsesWildHorseAd-vj8hm

TODAY is the last day to help us maximize our Secret Santa $2,000 matching donation.  A generous donor has agreed to match UP TO $2,000 to our organization, IF we can get $2,000 in matching donations!  We are still a long way from maximizing this generous donation!!  We hope that you will take a moment to make a donation of ANY size to help us reach this goal. 

Your tax-deductible donation can be made to CHWHA 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 again for your continued support in 2025!  We look forward to working with all of you in 2026 and beyond!

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

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