North Dakota
Groups plead to extend comment time on wild horses report for Theodore Roosevelt National Park
MEDORA, N.D. — More than a dozen advocacy groups and the Medora City Council have asked Theodore Roosevelt National Park to extend a public comment period in a planning process that will decide the fate of the park’s wild horses.
In a letter sent on Friday, Oct. 6, to park Superintendent Angie Richman, the groups asked that the 30-day comment period expiring on Oct. 25 be extended for 30 days.
The public can comment on a draft environmental assessment that will guide the park’s new management plan for almost 200 horses roaming the south unit and eight or nine longhorn steers in the north unit.
Park administrators are considering three options: keeping the horses and cattle under the current management plan, which has a goal of maintaining a horse herd of 35 to 60, or the gradual or expedited removal of the herds.
More time should be given to comment, given the sweeping changes proposed and because almost 80 documents cited by the environmental assessment were only made available seven days into the 30-day comment period, the letter said.
“The wild horses attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to the park each year, and represent a significant economic driver for small businesses in the western portion of our state,” the letter said.
“Indeed, hundreds of local businesses and business owners depend on the TRNP’s wild horses for their livelihood by catering to seasonal tourists, who visit the Park specifically to view wild horses and, in the process, inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy each year,” the letter said.
The park’s foundation document defining “the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values — recognizes that the wild horses ‘were an important part of the cultural landscape when Theodore Roosevelt lived in the area and they are a very popular visitor attraction today,’ ” the letter continued.
Earlier attempts by the park to eliminate the wild horse herds, the letter noted, have sparked “very strong public disapproval.”
Wild horses were fenced in when a perimeter fence was built in the south unit before bison were introduced to the park after it was established in 1947.
Earlier this week, Chris Kman of Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates pointed out that the
draft environmental assessment grossly understated visitor support for the horses, giving the impression that less than half of visitors surveyed supported keeping the horses, when the survey report indicated 89% supported keeping the horses
to varying degrees.
“The release of thousands of pages of documents requires time to properly review, especially in light of the discrepancy with the (visitor survey) report that was released vs. the interpretation that the Park included in their Draft EA,” the letter said.
Those signing the letter included Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, Medora City Council, American Wild Horse Campaign, In Defense of Animals, Wild in North Dakota, Oregon Wild Horse Organization, Save Our Wild Horses, WHAGR Institute, Equine Collaborative International, Wild Horse Education, Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Placement Group, Wild Lands Wild Horses Series and Fund, North Dakota Badlands Horse, The Cloud Foundation and Kuntz Nokota Ranch.
Richman didn’t immediately provide a response to The Forum to the groups’ request for more time to comment on the environmental assessment.
Patrick Springer first joined The Forum in 1985. He covers a wide range of subjects including health care, energy and population trends. Email address: pspringer@forumcomm.com
Phone: 701-367-5294
North Dakota
Letter: Israel has a right to exist
There was an anniversary on May 14, 1948, but The Forum missed it. It was the day that Jewish Agency chair David Ben-Gurion proclaimed in Tel Aviv the establishment of the state of Israel. It was celebrated then by the Jewish people and within a matter of hours, the United States gave it official recognition as a nation state.
Now how is it that The Forum missed this anniversary?
On the op-ed page was a letter from
Allison Slavik saying that Gaza is not going away
. That might be true, but how about a mention of releasing the hostages held in tunnels by Hamas? Most people could accept a truce if at least a few of the living Jewish people could again see daylight along with the bodies of the dead under Hamas control.
How did the Jewish mothers of those hostages feel on May 12th?
Also,
Trampas Johnson has his viewpoint
expressed about the Palestinian-Israel conflict. How sad that Hamas butchery and savagery has engulfed the innocent lives of the Palestinian families.
Since Secretary of State Blinken and National Security spokesman John Kirby are each on record asking for Hamas to accept a temporary cease-fire and release 30 hostages, I believe that could create more support for Allison’s and Trampas’s debate points. But here we are, no fireworks for a celebration in Israel on its own Independence Day. Instead, there is daily fireworks in Hamas and Israel war.
If Gaza has a right to exist, so does Israel. The entire world knows that Israel is a Jewish nation. Now the readers of The Forum might read the other side of story and pray for the release of the hostages.
Crystal Dueker lives in Fargo.
North Dakota
North Dakota Fossil Site Reveals When Asteroid Killed Dinosaurs
North Dakota
North Dakota Polynesian Club celebrates culture at PAC Fest
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A fairly new group, the North Dakota Polynesian Cultural Club, hosted its first Pacific Island, Asian, Arts and Culture Festival, or PAC Fest for short.
The North Dakota Polynesian Club invited the public to come eat cultural food, watch performances of cultural dances and listen to special speakers at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.
Event organizer, DJ Lamyuen, says he hopes to bring attention to his community.
“The goal and the mission is to bring awareness to our Pacific Islander and Asian heritage,” said Lamyuen.
The performances featured included the Bismarck YMCA belly dancers and traditional Indian dances, celebrating the different ways of life that make the Pacific Islands and Asia diverse. But, the group welcomed everyone from any background to join the celebration.
“That’s all that matters, that we can enjoy each other and different cultures by food, by music, by dance, and that’s all that matters in today’s society,” said Moses Timaly, member of the North Dakota Polynesian Club.
The hope is that this event, and the club, can create a sentiment of unity between the people of Bismarck-Mandan, regardless of where they’re from.
“Not a lot of people out here have resources or friend groups, so this is like an opportunity to kind of get together and know your neighbors and know the community,” said Lamyuen.
A “Best Dressed” Award was also given to whoever wore their cultural regalia or traditional clothing the best.
The group also enjoys working with a variety of nonprofit organizations, such as Bismarck Global Neighbors.
Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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