Wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park photographed by Deborah Kalas. Her book “The Wild Herd: A Vanishing American Treasure” features photographs of wild horses at the park and at RTF’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary.

As published by The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — Advocates for some 200 wild horses roaming North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park are hoping a signal of support from Congress will prevent the removal of the beloved animals from the rugged landscape.

A National Park Service decision is expected around April as to the horses’ future in the park’s colorful, rolling Badlands. It’s part of an ongoing process to craft a park management plan for “livestock” — a term horse advocates reject.

Republican Sen. John Hoeven ‘s legislation, tucked in the annual Interior and Environment budget bill that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed, strongly recommends that the Park Service keep the horses in place. It also signals a potential future action that would deny any funding intended to remove them.

“Now we’ll continue to have a dialogue with them and hopefully get to a good solution,” Hoeven said in an interview with The Associated Press.

A remaining question is how many horses would ensure the long-term preservation of the herd. Advocates want to see a genetically viable herd of at least 150 horses to avoid inbreeding issues. Park Superintendent Angie Richman has said the horses, if they ultimate stay, would still have to be reduced to 35 to 60 animals under a 1978 environmental assessment.

For more background on the Theodore Roosevelt horses, click here.