North Dakota
Public comments overwhelmingly support keeping wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park
MEDORA, N.D. — The wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park got a resounding show of support as remnants of Old West “living history” in public comments about a new plan for managing the herd.
The National Park Service is conducting an environmental assessment for its proposed new “livestock management plan” for the horses, which number more than 185 and are dispersed among 15 bands roaming the park’s south unit.
Earlier this year,
park officials announced their preferred alternative would be to gradually remove the horses and a small herd of longhorn steers
in the north unit. But
other alternatives call for a smaller horse herd or leaving the herd untouched.
Those presenting comments that took a position on “complete livestock removal” overwhelmingly wanted the horses and cattle to remain,
according to a summary compiled by the National Park Service
.
Forty-five comments supported completely removing the horses and cattle, while 2,867 opposed removal — a ratio of more than 63-to-1 in comments submitted during a 50-day period that ended Jan. 31.
The park service tallied a total of 7,331 categorized comments contained within more than 19,000 submissions, including online comments and letters. Seventy-nine organizations presented comments, including many wild horse advocacy groups.
“The wild horses are a wonderful asset to this beautiful natural place,” one comment favoring keeping the horses said. “The only reason we visit TRNP is to see the horses in their natural environment, a true piece of old west history. We can see buffalo and cattle all over but not wild horse herds.”
Another person who favors keeping the horses, which Theodore Roosevelt wrote of seeing during his ranching days in the 1880s, regards them as historically significant and worthy of preservation.
“The horses in the park are a living piece of history,” the person wrote. “They become a story of things gone by, like so many other things mankind has failed to protect and preserve. I strongly believe that the presence of the horses in the park should be preserved for future generations.”
A small minority of comments supported removing the horses and cattle.
“Domestic livestock are not native to this park’s natural ecological system and they compete for limited forage with native wildlife species that rely on the same forage and are already under stress from drought and other causes,” one person wrote.
But another commenter said wild horses are a native species and belong in the park along with bison and elk.
“They are native to North America and belong here,” the person wrote. “They contribute to ecosystem balance providing ecosystem services just by being on the land.”
Another wrote: “These horses have been surviving side by side with the wildlife for hundreds of years. … Wild horses will self-regulate. If there’s not enough food, they don’t need man’s interference. Please leave these wild horses alone.”
Some of those wanting to see the horses continue to roam the park supported a smaller herd, including at least one published comment that favored the park’s current goal of maintaining a herd of 35 to 60 horses, which has been park policy since a 1978 environmental assessment.
Reducing the herd size to 35 to 60 “would be the better option overall,” one person wrote.
But others disagreed with that view and cited research showing that a minimum herd size of 150 to 200 horses is needed to maintain a genetically healthy, viable herd.
Park officials didn’t immediately respond to email and phone messages, so it’s not clear what weight they will give to public comments in drafting the proposed environmental assessment, which is expected to be released this summer.
Once the draft is issued, another round of public comments will follow. After those comments are reviewed, a final environmental assessment and livestock management plan will be issued.
North Dakota public officials have overwhelmingly expressed support for keeping the horses and longhorns. Those urging the park to keep the horses include Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, both R-N.D., Gov. Doug Burgum, the North Dakota Legislature through a unanimous resolution and the state’s five tribal leaders.
Read the full summary here:
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
Jelly Roll to headline 2025 North Dakota State Fair
MINOT, N.D. (KFYR) – A big North Dakota State Fair announcement. We now know who will headline the fair this year.
Jelly Roll is set to take the main stage in Minot on Sunday, July 20.
The Grammy-nominated artist also played at the state fair in 2023.
He just finished his sold-out arena tour, “Beautifully Broken” making 2024 his most successful year.
Single tickets for Jelly Roll will be 80 dollars, it’s the same price for reserved seating or standing-room spots.
Tickets go on sale on March 3.
You can get them online, in person, or at one of seven kiosks throughoUt the state.
The North Dakota State Fair will soon release the other artists joining the line-up with Jelly Roll and Bailey Zimmerman.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
South Dakota State soars past North Dakota
BROOKINGS — The Jackrabbits had their shootin’ boots on Thursday night against North Dakota, blowing past the Fighting Hawks 109-73 before a First Bank & Trust Arena crowd of 3,261 in one of the most impressive offensive performances in recent memory by South Dakota State.
The win marked the second most points they’ve ever scored against a Division I opponent (fans may remember the 139 they dropped on Savannah State in 2018), and their .656 field goal percentage is the fourth-best of the D1 era.
Joe Sayler had 25 points for the Jacks — all of them coming in the first half — while Isaac Lindsey had 13, Oscar Cluff and Kalen Garry 12 and Jaden Jackson 11, as all 11 active players on the roster scored.
But hot shooting and scoring exploits aside, the Jacks needed this win. An 0-2 road trip last week dropped them to 1-2 in league play, and while it’s far too early to really be worrying about the standings, SDSU wanted to end the losing streak before it became an actual streak.
“It was an important win, especially back on our home court,” said Lindsey, who was 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. “We knew this week in practice that this was a big game after a tough road trip and the coaches were on us but they stayed super positive with us. That helped us come to work with a good attitude, so we were gonna get back on track at home.”
Both teams started out hot, with SDSU leading 32-28 at the midpoint of a fast-paced first half. But the Hawks started to gradually cool off (or the Jacks played better defense), while SDSU just kept on ripping the nets.
The Jacks connected on 71 percent of their shots from the field before the break, and actually kept pushing that shooting percentage higher in the early stages of the second half before finally cooling off.
“We started off a little slow on the defensive end but we picked it up late in the half and when we play good defense our offense comes along,” said Sayler, who was 10-of-13 from the floor and hit 4-of-7 3-pointers. “We just trust each other to make the right play, shots went in tonight and that’s what we needed on our home floor.”
Matthew Mors had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, Owen Larson had six points, six rebounds and four assists and Damon Wilkinson had eight points and four rebounds.
Amar Kuljuhovic had 14 points to lead the Fighting Hawks (7-13, 1-4), while SDSU held UND’s leading scorer, Treysen Eaglestaff, to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Mier Panoam had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. The Hawks shot 47 percent in the first half but a dreadful 21 percent (7-of-32) in the second.
It’s almost become a running gag how Jacks coach Eric Henderson always focuses on and talks about his team’s defense no matter how well they play on offense, but this game figured to put that to the test. One of the most efficient and entertaining offensive performances the Jacks have put together in Henderson’s tenure — would he still credit the defense first in his postgame remarks? Of course he did, and when teased about it, the coach offered no apologies.
“You know me,” Henderson said with a laugh. “Joe’s performance was pretty special. The pace that we played with and how we shared the basketball is as good as we’ve done all year.”
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
North Dakota
North Dakota Forest Service leads group to fight California wildfires
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Since the Palisades wildfire began in California on Jan. 7, firefighting crews have been working to contain them.
Many western states have sent equipment and firefighters to help. Now, Hunter Noor of the North Dakota Forest Service is leading a task force of South Dakota firefighters to manage the Eden fires outside of Pasadena.
“It’s just a chunk of ground that starts going up into those high mountains they have there right outside of Pasadena. And we’re just patrolling fire lines, putting out hot spots and just making sure that the lines that are there hold,” said Noor.
Noor and his group plan to be in California for at least another week and a half.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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