North Dakota

Beloved Wild Horses Roaming North Dakota National Park May Be Removed

Published

1 year ago

August 26, 2023

Beloved Wild Horses Roaming North Dakota National Park May Be Removed

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The beloved wild horses that roam freely in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park could be removed under a National Park Service proposal that worries advocates who say the horses are a cultural link to the past.

Visitors who drive the scenic park road can often see bands of horses, a symbol of the West and sight that delights tourists. Advocates want to see the horses continue to roam the Badlands, and disagree with park officials who have branded the horses as “livestock.”

Wild horses graze on a hillside by the boundary fence of Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota, on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

The Park Service is revising its livestock plans and writing an environmental assessment to examine the impacts of taking no new action — or to remove the horses altogether.

Removal would entail capturing horses and giving some of them first to tribes, and later auctioning the animals or giving them to other entities. Another approach would include techniques to prevent future reproduction and would allow those horses to live out the rest of their lives in the park.

The horses have allies in government leaders and advocacy groups. One advocate says the horses’ popularity won’t stop park officials from removing them from the landscape of North Dakota’s top tourist attraction.

“At the end of the day, that’s our national park paid for by our tax dollars, and those are our horses. We have a right to say what happens in our park and to the animals that live there,” Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates President Chris Kman told The Associated Press.

Last year, Park Superintendent Angie Richman told The Bismarck Tribune that the park has no law or requirement for the horses to be in the park. Regardless of what decision is ultimately made, the park will have to reduce its roughly 200 horses to 35-60 animals under a 1978 environmental assessment’s population objective, she previously said.

Kman said she would like the park “to use science” to “properly manage the horses,” including a minimum of 150-200 reproductive horses for genetic viability. Impacts of the park’s use of a contraceptive on mares are unclear, she added.

A wild horse stands near Peaceful Valley Ranch in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota, on Saturday, May 20, 2023.

Ousting the horse population “would have a detrimental impact on the park as an ecosystem,” Kman said. The horses are a historical fixture, while the park reintroduced bison and elk, she said.

A couple bands of wild horses were accidentally fenced into the park after it was established in 1947, said Castle McLaughlin, who in the 1980s researched the history and origins of the horses while working as a graduate student for the Park Service in North Dakota.

Park officials in the early years sought to eradicate the horses, shooting them on sight and hiring local cowboys to round them up and remove them, she said. The park even sold horses to a local zoo at one point to be food for large cats.

Around 1970, a new superintendent discovered Roosevelt had written about the presence of wild horses in the Badlands during his time there. Park officials decided to retain the horses as a historic demonstration herd to interpret the open-range ranching era. “However, the Park Service still wasn’t thrilled about them,” McLaughlin told the AP.

“Basically they’re like cultural artifacts almost because they reflect several generations of western North Dakota ranchers and Native people. They were part of those communities,” and might have ties to Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull, she said.

In the 1880s, Theodore Roosevelt hunted and ranched as a young man in the Badlands of what is now western North Dakota. The Western tourist town of Medora is at the gates of the national park that bears his name.

Roosevelt looms large in North Dakota, where a presidential library in his honor is under construction near the park — a legislative push in 2019 that was championed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum.

Burgum has offered for the state to collaborate with the Park Service to manage the horses. Earlier this year, North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature passed a resolution in support of preserving the horses.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota has included legislation in the U.S. Interior Department’s appropriations bill that he told the AP “would direct them to keep horses in the park in line with what was there at the time that Teddy Roosevelt was out in Medora.”

“Most all of the input we’ve got is that people want to retain horses. We’ve been clear we think (the park) should retain horses,” Hoeven said. He’s pressing the park to keep more than 35-60 horses for genetics reasons.

The senator said he expects the environmental review to be completed soon, which will provide an opportunity for public comment. Richman told the AP the park plans to release the assessment this summer. A timeline for a final decision is unclear.

The environmental review will look at the impact of each of the three proposals in a variety of areas, Maureen McGee-Ballinger, the park’s deputy superintendent, told the AP.

There were thousands of responses during the previous public comment period on the park’s proposals — the vast majority of which opposed “complete livestock removal.”

Kman’s group has been active in gathering support for the horses, including drafting government resolutions and contacting congressional offices, tribal leaders, similar advocacy groups and “pretty much anyone that would listen to me,” she said.

McLaughlin said the park’s effort carries “a stronger possibility that they’ll succeed this time than has ever been the case in the past. I mean, they have never been this determined and publicly open about their intentions, but I’ve also never seen the state fight for the horses like they are now.”

The park’s North Unit, about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) from Medora, has about nine longhorn cattle. The proposals would affect the longhorns, too, though the horses are the greater concern. Hoeven said his legislation doesn’t address the longhorns. The cattle are managed under a 1970 plan.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park “is one of very few national parks that does have horses, and that sets it apart,” North Dakota Commerce Tourism and Marketing Director Sara Otte Coleman said in January at a press conference with Burgum and lawmakers.

Wild horses also roam in Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia.

The horses’ economic impact on tourism is impossible to delineate, but their popularity is high among media, photographers, travel writers and social media influencers who tout them, Otte Coleman said.

“Removal of the horses really eliminates a feature that our park guests are accustomed to seeing,” she said.

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North Dakota

North Dakota Supreme Court Considers Motion to Reinstate Abortion Ban While Appeal is Pending

Published

3 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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North Dakota Supreme Court Considers Motion to Reinstate Abortion Ban While Appeal is Pending

The North Dakota Supreme Court hears arguments involving abortion via Zoom on Nov. 21, 2024. (Screenshot Bismarck Tribune via the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota’s solicitor general called on the North Dakota Supreme Court to reinstate an abortion law struck down by a lower court until a final decision in the case is made, arguing that the ban must remain in effect because the state has a compelling interest in protecting unborn life.

“We say that not to be dramatic, but because the district court seems to have lost sight of that,” Phil Axt told justices Thursday.

The ban, signed into law by Gov. Doug Burgum in April 2023, made abortion illegal in all cases except rape or incest if the mother has been pregnant for less than six weeks, or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat.

South Central Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Romanick vacated the law in September, declaring it unconstitutionally vague and an infringement on medical freedom.

He further wrote that “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability exists.”

The law went into effect just weeks after the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled the state’s previous abortion ban unconstitutional and found that women have a right to seek an abortion for health reasons.

Axt argued Thursday that Romanick’s judgment striking down the 2023 law conflicts with the Supreme Court’s prior ruling, and that Romanick’s legal analysis contains “glaring errors.” Axt claimed there’s nothing in the state constitution that supports a right to abortion until the point of viability.

“It’s been clear since our territorial days that in order to justify killing another human being, there must be a threat of death or serious bodily injury,” Axt said.

Meetra Mehdizadeh, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said to reverse Romanick’s decision even temporarily would be to disregard many serious problems he identified with the statute.

The ban does not sufficiently explain to doctors when they may legally provide abortions — which chills their ability to provide necessary health care for fear of prosecution, she said.

“The district court correctly held that the ban violates the rights of both physicians and patients, and staying the judgment and allowing the state to continue to enforce an unconstitutional law would be nonsensical,” Mehdizadeh said.

Axt countered that the law is not vague, and that doctors are incorrect to assume they would face criminal penalties for good-faith medical decisions.

If doctors are confused about the ban, said Axt, “the solution is not striking down the law — it is providing some professional education.”

In briefs filed with the court, the state also argued that Romanick’s judgment vacating the law seems to conflict with his original order declaring the law unconstitutional.

While the order identifies a right to abortion until the point of fetal viability, Romanick’s judgment does not include any reference to viability. The state is now confused as to whether it can now enforce any restrictions on abortion, Axt said.

North Dakota still must observe abortion regulations established under other laws not challenged in the lawsuit, Mehdizadeh said.

Axt further claimed that Romanick’s judgment should be put on hold because it addresses a “novel” area of law, and because it takes a supermajority of the Supreme Court to declare a statute unconstitutional.

“Statutes should not be presumed unconstitutional until this court has had an opportunity to weigh in on the matter, and a super majority of this court is of that opinion,” Axt said.

Justice Daniel Crothers said he questioned Axt’s logic.

“Any novel issue where the district court declares something unconstitutional, it’s sounding like you’re suggesting that we should presume that it’s wrong,” Crothers said to Axt.

The appeal is the latest step in a lawsuit brought against the state by a group of reproductive health care doctors and a Moorhead, Minnesota-based abortion provider, Red River Women’s Clinic. The clinic previously operated in Fargo, but moved across the state line after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

The ban, passed with overwhelming support by both chambers of the Republican-dominated Legislature, set penalties of up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 for any health care professionals found in violation of the law.

The arguments were only on whether Romanick’s decision should be put on hold during the appeal, not on the merits of the case itself, which the Supreme Court will consider separately. The justices took the matter under advisement.

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North Dakota

Four western North Dakota volleyball teams punch a ticket to state semifinals

Published

11 hours ago

November 22, 2024

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Four western North Dakota volleyball teams punch a ticket to state semifinals

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The quarterfinal round of the NDHSAA State Volleyball tournament played out in the Fargodome Thursday with four teams from the west side of the state advancing to the semifinals.

In Class A, Century avenged a quarterfinal loss from a year ago to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Legacy upended West Fargo Horace in an upset.

The two teams will face off in the semifinals, which guarantees that a team from the west will make the Class A State Championship game. The Patriots are 2-0 against the Sabers this season.

2024 NDHSAA Volleyball semifinal bracket(KFYR)

In Class B, South Prairie-Max and Medina-Pingree-Buchanan both advanced to the semifinals in their first ever state tournament appearance.

The Royals defeated Kenmare-Bowbells 3-0. The Thunder defeated Central McLean 3-0. That guarantees that a team from the west will also make the Class B State Championship game as the Royals and Thunder will face off in the semifinals.

Class B NDHSAA Volleyball semifinals bracket(KFYR)

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North Dakota

Cass County Deputy being investigated by the ND BCI resigns

Published

21 hours ago

November 21, 2024

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Cass County Deputy being investigated by the ND BCI resigns

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy who is under investigation by the the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) has resigned from the department.

Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner says he was contacted by the BCI in September saying they were initiating an investigation into Deputy Carson Quam for alleged criminal activity. Jahner says the Sheriff’s Office was unaware of any criminal activity Quam was potentially involved with.

On November 21, the Sheriff’s office announced that Quam is no longer an employee of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

Jahner says the information was not released in September because it was an active and ongoing investigation from another agency.

“Any time criminal allegations are made against one of my employees, my Office will always collaborate with the investigating and prosecuting agencies to assist throughout the investigation and potential prosecution, working to ensure the integrity of the case. If criminal activity is substantiated, it will not be tolerated. My Office will always strive through rigorous background checks, department training, and accountability to put the best deputies in our communities to protect and serve our citizens,” said Sheriff Jahner.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it is unable to comment further pending investigation and review by the Grand Forks and Cass County States Attorney’s Offices. Valley News Live will continue to follow this situation as it develops.

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