“The world is divided into people who do things and people who get the credit.” – Dwight Morrow
Hello and Happy Thursday!
We have been talking about the tireless work we have been doing to secure federal legislation for the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Senator John Hoeven introduced legislation after Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates worked with our North Dakota State legislators in the 2025 legislative session to have a resolution pass unanimously through the ND House & Senate asking for federal protection for our beloved herd.
We have said all along that we are advocating for THE BEST piece of federal legislation for the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home. While we are grateful to Senator Hoeven for introducing this legislation, it falls short of the proper protection these horses need. We have had and will continue to have conversations with his office stating our concerns.
We have also spent this “quiet time” talking to members of Congress individually and also caucuses on the US House side about the legislation and possible amendments we want to see added to the legislation.
The legislation 100% CAN still be amended and Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is STILL working tirelessly on those amendments!
If the legislation is amended on the House side, it will go to a committee made up of members of the House and Senate to agree on a final version of the law to be passed.
We WILL have Calls to Action around this in the coming days so please be sure to check back!
What needs to be amended?
For starters, the legislation calls for “not less than 150 horses” to remain in the park. Since there are just under 200 horses currently in the park, we have asked for this number to be changed to 150-200 horses.
There are currently 25 horses that are 20-27 years old. There are another 36 that are 13-19 years old. We will organically get down to that 150 number. We feel that the horses in the park, especially the older ones, deserve to live out their lives in the only home they have ever known. We have already lost 6 horses so far in 2026.
In my conversations with Superintendent Daniels, there are already “soft” conversations about “If we have to remove horses….” or “What do you think if we do this as an option for culled horses?”
While we remain cautiously optimistic about a new path forward with our relationship with the park, we know that internal discussions about the possible removal of some of the horses are already happening.
The legislation also says the park has to have a management plan in 120 days. That is not enough time to properly write a management plan with public input as per the NEPA process. The last Environmental Assessment process went from 2021-2024 and we never got anything but a plan to eliminate the horses slowly or quickly. A proper management plan, according to the NEPA process, requires public input and scientific data and FACTS.
We want to clarify – we are grateful to Senator Hoeven for introducing and getting this legislation passed in the Senate. Those of you that make up Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, who have done the persistent work to get this legislation this far – please take a moment to celebrate with us. This is a HUGE accomplishment! This legislation needed to move forward, we didn’t want it to die on the Senate floor. Now that it is moving over to the House, we ALL have work to do to get the best piece of legislation for these horses that is possible.
Please stay tuned! We will have talking points and Calls to Action that you can do to help us meet this critical goal for our beloved wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
We also ask that you please continue to support the diligent advocacy work Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates continues to do as we work to get this federal legislation across the finish line!
You can make your tax-deductible donation here: https://secure.everyaction.com/pIMNkwr21021HO0xWm0UOg2
You can also make your donation through PayPal here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XNYNCNVLTULGC
Thank you again for your support and please stay tuned for updates on this extremely important matter!
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