Wild horses living in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) are facing a complete wipe out.
The National Park Service (NPS) is taking public input on a Draft Environmental Assessment for a proposed plan that basically leads to the complete elimination of this historic herd.
These wild horses are North Dakota’s only wild horse herd.
Right now, TRNP is home to about 195 wild horses. These horses have roamed this area for centuries. It is believed that they are descendants of Sitting Bull’s horses and related to the rare Nokota breed.
Even with 19,000 public comments submitted, of which the majority called on the NPS to maintain a genetically viable herd of at least 150 horses, the National Park Service rejected this request.
Instead, the NPS proposes three alternatives that could only lead to a complete elimination of this historic herd:
- Limit the herd to what would be an unsustainable and unscientific number of only 35-60 wild horses (meaning the removal of about 150 horses);
- Reduce the population of the herd to zero using a phased method; or
- Expedite the reduction of the herd to zero.