Theodore Roosevelt National Park Criticized for Removing Wild Horses

Photo by Man Dy

Would T.R. be appalled by the dismissive behavior of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) and the National Park Service (NPS) to the culture and history of T.R.’s badlands, where the “romance of his life began”? T.R. himself always said, "I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota."

Historians who are experts in T.R. say, “Yes”!

“Today, the 70,448 acres of TRNP is home to a variety of plants and animals and continues to memorialize the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the safekeeping and protection of our nation’s resources.” ~TRNP, Website

In December the park released its 2nd Scoping Newsletter to the public indicating the following options, Alt A leaves the horses in the park, but without an updated management plan. Alt B and Alt C recommend the complete removal of the horses and the obvious livestock, the longhorns.

Wild Lands Wild Horses (WLWH) make the argument that, “This cultural object, the horse, undeniably played a pivotal role in this region. This region is unique not only because of T.R. and his prolific storytelling, but because it is a rugged crossroads of culture, heritage, and history for Native Americans, ranchers, and settlers alike and clearly represent the bygone days of a harder but grittier and wild time in North Dakota’s history.”

Take away the descendants of the very horses T.R. witnessed in the Little Missouri breaks and badlands, and what has happened? History is erased, T.R. himself is disrespected.

“I am from NJ and I first visited the park for the sole purpose of seeing wild horses. However, I left with a new respect for the land and history that came with it. TRNP’s wild horses bring in people from all over the world, and if you take them away, the city of Medora and the park would lose a massive amount of income from tourism.” Says Jamie Baldanza of WLWH

“For the sake of the entire herd that call TRNP home, we fight to save the herd for our children and grandchildren. Their cultural heritage is threatened by a government agency out of touch with the realities of how to manage a landscape in today’s world to the social needs of the people who visit. It is time to set aside dogma and manage to multiple needs—landscape, animal, and human alike. It can be done”. Says Deb Lee Carson park visitor since 2006

WLWH explains that citing outdated legislation is also not the answer. Working on new legislation is. TRNP is not Yellowstone or Glacier or any of the other parks in the United States, nor will it ever be. TRNP is its own unique niche honoring our 26th president— the park exists only because of T.R.

WLWH invites TRNP and NPS to embrace a unique opportunity to unite, once and for all, with Medora, a community steeped in equine reverence, soon home to T.R.’s library, to instill a deep respect for the intangible cultural heritage and diversity of this region, and this genetically, unique herd of horses clearly are a part of that.

What would T.R. do? He would fight!

WLWH is a non-profit that advocates for change in how we perceive and manage our intangible cultural object, the free roaming horse.

WLWH is presenting formal comments to the TRNP Livestock Management Plan in a good faith effort to elicit the changed needed to ensure that the current free roaming herd of horses can co-exist with other ungulates in TRNP by, once and for all, given the respect, funding, and staffing needed to manage the historic landscape, so it can thrive and support ALL life, for future generations.

WLWH will demonstrate the intangible cultural heritage the herd of horses who free roam in Theodore Roosevelt National Park had on T.R. himself (citing his own experience), and to the peoples of that region of North Dakota, the state of North Dakota, America, and the world (using personal stories of those who have visited and those who follow remotely via social media platforms).

For more information visit https://www.wildlandswildhorses.com/save-trnp