Horses to stay in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

BISMARCK, N.D. — Wild horses will stay in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park amid fears from advocates that park officials would remove the beloved animals from the rugged badlands landscape, a key lawmaker said Thursday.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven said he has secured a commitment from the National Park Service to maintain wild horses in the park, though the number remains to be determined. Roughly 200 horses now roam the park.

Hoeven said the Park Service will abandon its proposed removal of the horses under an environmental review process begun in 2022 and will continue to operate under an existing 1978 environmental assessment that calls for a reduction in their numbers.

“They’ve committed to me that we will have a thoughtful and inclusive discussion on how many horses they keep in the park,” Hoeven told The Associated Press. There is no timeline on that, he said.

Park visitors, much to their delight, often encounter the horses while driving or hiking in the rolling, colorful badlands where a young, future President Theodore Roosevelt hunted and engaged in cattle ranching in the 1880s in what was then Dakota Territory.

“People love horses,” Hoeven said. “And where do you go to see wild horses? I mean, it’s not like an easy thing to do, and most people don’t have horses, and they love the idea of wild horses. They see it as part of our heritage in America.”

Earlier Thursday, Hoeven’s office said in a statement the decision “will allow for a healthy herd of wild horses to be maintained at the park, managed in a way to support genetic diversity among the herd and preserve the park’s natural resources.”

Proposals included removing the horses quickly or gradually or taking no action. Park Superintendent Angie Richman has said the horses, even if they ultimately stay, would still have to be reduced to 35-60 animals under the 1978 environmental assessment. The park will continue to manage the longhorns as done previously, according to Hoeven’s office.

The Park Service reached out to the five tribal nations in North Dakota to find out if the tribes want to be involved in managing the horses, Hoeven said. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe indicated interest, he said.

The senator’s announcement comes after Congress passed and President Joe Biden recently signed an appropriations bill with a provision from Hoeven strongly recommending the Park Service maintain the horses. The legislation signaled that funding to remove the horses might be denied.

The horses descend from those of Native American tribes and area ranches and from domestic stallions introduced to the park in the late 20th century.