Last
year,
the
National
Park
Service
promulgated
an
environmental
assessment
which
suggested,
among
other
things,
that
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park’s
free-roaming
wild
horse
herd
of
about
200
animals
should
be
removed
from
the
park.
During
the
public
comment
period
on
the
environmental
assessment,
I
urged
interested
readers
of
this
column
to
comment
on
whether
wild
horses
should
stay
in
or
be
removed
from
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park.
Boy,
did
you.
The
NPS
received
a
total
of
25,561
pieces
of
correspondence
pertaining
to
the
fate
of
wild
horses
within
the
park.
Of
these,
16,443
were
part
of
form-letter
campaigns
propagated
by
various
organizations.
But
a
robust
9,118
comments
were
unique
and
individually
crafted.
Residents
of
all
50
states,
along
with
the
District
of
Columbia,
were
represented
in
the
public
comments.
Although
the
vast
majority
of
the
comments
came
from
individuals,
more
than
50
nongovernmental
organizations
also
offered
input
on
the
status
of
wild
horses
in
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park.
Of
course,
there
was
a
wide
range
of
ideas
and
opinions.
That
being
said,
far
more
commentators
were
broadly
in
favor
of
finding
a
way
to
allow
wild
horses
to
remain
than
were
in
favor
of
removing
them
from
the
park
forever.
Lawmakers
took
notice.
While
the
NPS
ultimately
had
to
make
the
decision
itself
on
how
to
manage
wildlife
(or
“livestock”
as
the
NPS
referred
to
wild
horses
in
its
environmental
assessment)
within
park
boundaries
under
their
interpretations
of
relevant
environmental
laws
and
regulations,
several
state
and
federal
level
politicians
threw
their
weight
behind
the
significant
public
backlash
against
the
plan
to
eliminate
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park’s
horses.
The
pressure
finally
became
too
much.
According
to
an
April
25
news
release,
the
NPS
has
dropped
its
plan
to
remove
the
horses.
Instead,
park
officials
will
manage
the
herd
under
an
existing
environmental
plan
from
1978.
The
park
itself
has
kept
relatively
quiet
about
terminating
its
horse
removal
plan.
In
a
short
statement,
however,
park
officials
did
directly
credit
the
public
comment
process
for
the
reversal,
saying
that
the
decision
“was
made
after
careful
consideration
of
the
information
and
public
comment
received
during
the
(environmental
assessment)
process.”
This
is
not
the
end
of
the
discussion
about
wild
horses
in
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park.
Indeed,
even
the
1978
plan
calls
for
a
reduction
in
the
horse
herd
to
an
unspecified
number
(we
are
told
that,
going
forward,
the
herd
will
be
“managed
in
a
way
to
support
genetic
diversity”).
Some
wild
horse
activists
are
now
pressing
for
formal
federal
protections
for
the
horses,
and
warn
that
this
is
the
only
way
to
permanently
quash
the
plans
to
fully
remove
this
horse
herd
—
plans
which
have
resurfaced
periodically
throughout
modern
history.
For
now,
though,
it’s
time
for
everyone
who
submitted
a
comment
to
take
a
bow.
No
single
individual
or
organization
can
take
sole
credit
for
saving
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park’s
wild
horses.
Yet
together,
using
nothing
more
profound
than
our
words
and
the
influence
we
have,
we
accomplished
something
important.
The
600,000
people
who
visit
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park
every
year
will
henceforth
have
you
to
thank
whenever
they
spot
a
majestic
equine
form
appearing
over
the
horizon.
Governmental
units
can
function
effectively.
Some
politicians
are
responsive
to
the
will
of
the
people.
There
are
even
occasionally
newsworthy
events
you
can
feel
good
about.
While
we
will
never
get
to
rest
for
long,
we
must
savor
such
victories
when
we
can.
To
everyone
who
helped
advocate
for
the
wild
horses
in
Theodore
Roosevelt
National
Park,
thank
you.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD
(affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at jon_wolf@hotmail.com.