Congress mandates wild horse herd in national park, restricts removal

What it does

This bill requires the Interior Department to maintain a herd of at least 150 genetically diverse wild horses in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Secretary must develop a management plan within 120 days, monitor the herd annually, and can only remove horses in emergencies, for public safety, or to maintain genetic diversity—effectively protecting the herd from culling or removal.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a statutory duty imposed on the Interior Department to maintain a minimum wild horse population and restrict removal authority. This is a conservation mandate, not a funding mechanism or regulatory carve-out.

What the text implies

• The 120-day management-plan deadline may create implementation pressure on the National Park Service, potentially requiring budget reallocation from other park programs if horse management costs exceed current appropriations.
• Annual public reporting requirement creates a transparency mechanism that could expose management failures or resource conflicts, potentially triggering future legislative or appropriations disputes.
• The 'genetically diverse herd' language may require the Secretary to source horses from outside the park or conduct selective breeding, raising questions about what genetic management entails and its cost.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens gain a statutory guarantee that a wild horse population will be preserved and monitored in a national park, with transparent annual public reporting. The bill restricts government discretion to remove horses without cause, strengthening public accountability and wildlife protection.

Named in the bill

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit, Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, 16 U.S.C. 245, Act of April 25, 1947

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Apr 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 9, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Dec 9, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held”
• Dec 17, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
• Jun 11, 2026 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S2747-2748; text: CR S2748)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,477,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 31 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

John Hoeven, the sponsor, reported $269,275 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Honda Motor Co., Inc. — $1,477,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.