Hello and Happy Friday!

There was important movement on the federal protection we are seeking in the proposed Theodore Roosevelt National Park Wild Horse Protection Act that passed the US Senate and is now moving in front of the US House. 

Next Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the Federal Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee will be hearing testimony for this bill.

The good news is that we here at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates have been on the phone nonstop since July speaking with members of Congress, and on the Natural Resources Committee, about concerns we have regarding this legislation.

This includes North Dakota Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak’s office, who will be carrying this legislation on the House side. 

We expressed our concerns with the Congresswoman’s office, including the importance of the wording of the legislation.  Our contact at the office agreed on the importance of wording and even gave his own example on a bill that passed with wording that actually hurt North Dakotans that had to be amended.

Sadly, Congresswoman Fedorchak’s office has chosen to NOT include any amendments to the legislation.  Instead, she is simply submitting Senator Hoven’s legislation as is at present. 

Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates has said from day 1 that we do not and cannot support this legislation as it is written.  Believe me, this is heartbreaking for me to say as I personally have been asking our North Dakota federal legislators for federal legislation for this herd long before 2021 when the Park made their latest attempt to remove the horses.

IF this bill passes, it will become a law.  This legislation is supposed to protect the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  As it is written, it DOES NOT!

All this bill does is make sure that there are always 150 horses in the park.  It does not specify what kind, it doesn’t even matter if the horses they put in the park can survive the way the current horses in the park can between the rugged terrain and our extreme weather conditions. 

The number of horses is all that matters.

Not Red Face’s offspring or Mystery’s or Blaze’s or Sidekick’s or Copper’s or Sweetheart’s or Strawberry’s or Thunder Cloud’s or any of the horses we have come to love who have evolved to not only survive a literal lifetime of the park trying to eliminate them, but the horses who have evolved to thrive even when the odds have been against them.

We can all say what we want about the current park management, Secretary Burgum, Senator Hoeven and how none of these people would allow any harm to come to these horses.  The thing is, one day we will have a new superintendent, a new Secretary of the Interior, and new congressional delegates who may not feel the same way the current ones do about the wild horses of TRNP.

This legislation, as written, can be detrimental to a future non-horse friendly administration.  The past has clearly shown us this!  You can check Dr. Castle McLaughlin’s report to learn about the past aggressive attempts to eliminate this herd. 

The New York Times just published an article about the loophole the BLM found that is allowing them to send our wild horse to slaughter.

This legislation does not just have way too many loopholes, it is as a friend of mine said, “They left the barn door open on this one!”

The legislation also does not even address the aggressive use of fertility control on this herd. 

The question Senator Hoeven and Congresswoman Fedorchak’s office have NOT been able to answer for us is why they do not support the formation of a wild horse working group – similar to what has been done in Colorado – something former Governor Burgum expressed interest in before he was confirmed as  Secretary of the Interior.  This group would be made up of stakeholders from North Dakota that would make sure North Dakota’s interests were considered in any future management decisions.  We have worked hard to establish relationships with amazing people across the state and have commitments from local veterinarians, Dickinson State University’s Equine Studies program, Native American representation, State Historians and the Medora Chamber of Commerce. There would also be room on this committee for advocates like us at CHWHA, NDBH, WIND and WLWH – although to us, the science, history and commerce pieces are critically important for the future management of this herd.

That working group is similar to what makes the Shackleford Banks wild horse legislation work.  That is the legislation Senator Hoeven modeled this legislation after.  How could he leave out the biggest part that makes it work?

When Senator Hoeven’s office contacted us in July, we let them know that we cannot support this legislation as it is written.  We also let Congresswoman Fedorchak’s office know if she simply submitted Senator Hoeven’s legislation (which she did) we could NOT support that. 

We have discussed our concerns about this legislation in detail over the last few months.  You can search our website at www.chwha.org for past blogs.

We also have the backing of American Wild Horse Conservation and other wild horse organizations who support us in the opposition of this legislation as it is currently written. 

So now, it is time for action from each and every one of you as advocates for this herd. 

The committee will meet Wednesday and hear testimony. They need to hear from you!

We have several ways you can help!  We will provide separate posts today explaining each Call to Action.

To begin – have you signed our petition?  This is critical!  If you have already signed – THANK YOU!  You do not need to sign again!  We have collected a couple thousand signatures. Can we get more?  The link to sign the petition is here: https://secure.everyaction.com/OMpbBCXE4UyvDhb_IAaoaA2 As always, our small nonprofit depends on your donations to continue. 

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 more Calls to Action we need you to take TODAY as well as updates on this extremely important matter!

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