After years of development, the National Park Service announced that it had terminated a proposal to remove wild horses from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.
In Friday's announcement, the Park Service said the decision was made after reviewing information collected through three public commenting periods on the proposed plan to remove the roughly 200 horses in the park to preserve resources. Experts say a large herd could trample fences, destroy grazing land, and harm other wildlife.
In a news release, Sen. John Hoeven, a Republican representing North Dakota, took credit for getting the Park Service to agree to keep the horses in the park. He said he "secured a commitment" from the Park Service to keep the horses at the park and to immediately terminate its proposal to remove the horses.
He also said he helped pass an appropriations measure to fund the service's effort to maintain "the historic scene commensurate with the historic herds during the period when President Theodore Roosevelt was a rancher in the area."
"These wild horses are emblematic of President Theodore Roosevelt's time in North Dakota, a formative experience that shaped his presidency and lasting legacy," Hoeven said, adding that there was broad support for keeping the horses in the park. "This is the right call by NPS."
According to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park website, the park is one of the few national parks in the country where you can see horses roam free. However, wild horses largely died out in North America around 10,000 years ago, but were reintroduced by the Spanish in the 1500s.
