[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11796-H11798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PROTECTION OF WILD HORSES IN THE OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS

  Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 238) to provide for the protection of wild horses within the 
Ozark National Scenic Riverways and prohibit the removal of such 
horses, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 238

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FREE-ROAMING HORSES.

       Section 7 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
     establishment of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in the 
     State of Missouri, and for other purposes'', approved August 
     27, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 460m-6), is amended to read as follows:
       ``Sec. 7. (a) The Secretary, in accordance with this 
     section, shall allow free-roaming horses in the Ozark 
     National Scenic Riverways. Within 180 days after enactment of 
     this section, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement 
     with the Missouri Wild Horse League or another qualified 
     nonprofit entity to provide for management of free-roaming 
     horses. The agreement shall provide for cost-effective 
     management of the horses and limit Federal expenditures to 
     the costs of monitoring the agreement. The Secretary shall 
     issue permits for adequate pastures to accommodate the 
     historic population level of the free-roaming horse herd, 
     which shall be not less than the number of horses in 
     existence on the date of enactment of this section nor more 
     than 50.
       ``(b) The Secretary may not remove, or assist in or permit 
     the removal of, any free-roaming horses from Federal lands 
     within the boundary of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways 
     unless the entity with whom the Secretary entered into the 
     agreement under subsection (a), following notice and a 180-
     day response period, substantially fails to meet the terms 
     and conditions of the agreement or in the case of an 
     emergency as defined in the agreement.
       ``(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as 
     creating additional liability for the United States for any 
     damages caused by the free-roaming horses to property located 
     inside or outside the boundaries of the Ozark National Scenic 
     Riverways.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon [Mr. Cooley] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. Cooley].
  (Mr. COOLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 238, legislation which would 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to permit free-roaming horses to 
continue to inhabit Ozark National Scenic Riverway.
  Free-roaming horses have existed in the vicinity of Ozark National 
Scenic Riverway for at least 50 years. For nearly 25 years after the 
park was established in 1964, the National Park Service coexisted in 
apparent harmony with the small number of horses which roam on lands 
both inside and outside the park boundary. Then suddenly, in about 
1990, the National Park Service decided that the horses would have to 
be completely removed.
  The only reason cited by the National Park Service to justify removal 
of the horses is that agency policy calls for removal of non-native 
plants and animals. However, the agency policy also calls for the 
National Park Service to conduct research to determine the effects of 
non-native animals on the park prior to initiating any such removal. 
The National Park Service has never conducted the required research, 
and has been unable to supply the committee with any scientific 
evidence documenting the impacts of these horses on park resources. 
Further, while the Park Service claims that the removal action is 
required under their policy, there are at least six areas in the park 
system where the National Park Service permits free roaming horses to 
exist, with no attempts to remove them. In other words, it appears that 
the national policies of this agency are applied on an arbitrary and 
selective basis by the field managers.
  When the National Park Service attempted to remove these animals, 
they encountered massive public opposition from all corners within the 
State of Missouri. That opposition was ignored. Volunteer groups 
appeared at the doorstep of the National Park Service and offered to 
manage the horses at no cost to the Federal Government. The door was 
slammed in their face. In fact, the National Park Service testified 
before our subcommittee that the only way to prevent future removal of 
the horses was to enact this legislation.
  I know that the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Emerson] has worked long 
and hard on this issue, an am witness to his extensive efforts to 
resolve this administratively. While such a solution may have been 
preferable, it is apparently not possible. Therefore, I commend this 
bill to my colleagues, urge they support it, and recommend its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, for decades now locals and visitors to the Ozark 
National Scenic Riverways have come to enjoy the sight of the free-
roaming horses which inhabit the area. When the National Park Service 
recommended removal of the horses in order to protect the riverways 
area, a fierce debate broke out.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to see the National Park Service and the 
local community work together to allow a small number of horses the 
freedom to roam the area unencumbered. The bill before us will allow 
for the Wild Horse League of Missouri, or a similar group, to manage 
and care for the feral horses in the area. The Wild Horse League, or 
similar groups, will also be responsible for any damage caused by the 
horses. Further, the bill directs the National Park Service to provide 
grazing land for the horses.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the author of this bill, the gentleman 
from Missouri [Mr. Emerson] and I see that the gentleman from Missouri 
[Mr. Skelton] is here and will be speaking on the bill. Both gentlemen 
are outstanding Members of this body. The gentleman from Missouri [Mr. 
Emerson] has had wide interest in this issue. We are going to make sure 
that this bill passes. We hold the gentleman in extremely high regard. 
We wish the gentleman a very, very speedy recovery. We see the 
gentleman here.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri [Mr. Emerson], the author of this bill.
  (Mr. EMERSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank the manager of 
the bill, the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. Cooley], and the gentleman 
from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] for their diligent work in bringing 
this bill before us today. I also thank the gentleman from Utah [Mr. 
Hansen], chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and 
Lands, and the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young], 

[[Page H 11797]]
chairman of the full Committee on Resources, for moving this bill 
through the legislative process.
  Mr. Speaker, the Ozark Wild Horses Protection Act of 1995 is of high 
importance to the folks in my congressional district in southern 
Missouri, and to the folks in the district of my neighbor and 
colleague, the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton], who represents 
the neighboring district. Mr. Speaker, I am just delighted to have the 
gentleman, and our other Ozark colleague, the gentleman from Missouri 
[Mr. Hancock], as cosponsors of this legislation. We can say we have 
all of the Missouri Ozarkian Congressmen behind this particular 
measure.
  The Ozark Wild Horses Protection Act has been around a while, but it 
should be noted that it is a very straightforward measure. It combines 
common sense and the will of the people to answer what has turned into 
a very, very complex problem.
  Mr. Speaker, in order to fully explain why my legislation is 
necessary, I want to give a little brief history about the wild horses 
that freely roam the Ozark scenic riverways. There are about 25 to 30 
animals in the herd which have been around for 60 years or more, if not 
longer. Some new horses have been born into the herd while others have 
died off. In this time, however, the animals have never become 
overpopulated nor a physical nuisance to the lands or waters in which 
they roam. In fact, the folks of southern Missouri, the people who live 
there and own the land there, want the horses to stay for future 
generations to enjoy. They, as I, want this legislation to become law 
in order to protect the wild horses from being rounded up and carted 
away.
  Mr. Speaker, all told, the wild horses have become a symbol of 
American freedom and certainly a case in point of the little guy versus 
government bureaucracy. It is very clear that the horses should be 
allowed to freely roam the scenic riverways, but due to an arbitrary 
decision by a local park superintendent some time ago, the National 
Park Service and the Interior Department, the issue now demands and 
deserves congressional resolution.
  Remember, one of the goals of the 104th Congress is to return power 
to the people, government to the governed, and by passing the Ozark 
Wild Horses Protection Act we will be doing just that.
  Members should know that there is precedence for allowing horses to 
remain in a National Park. In the 1980's, a similar case occurred in 
the Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota where the NPS wanted to 
proceed with removal, but the local folks wanted them to stay because 
of their image of the ``roughrider spirit.'' In the final analysis, the 
Park Service relented and allowed them to remain, because NPS 
determined that the wild horses are scenic, historic, and cultural.
  Unfortunately, in our case, congressional action has been deemed 
necessary by the Interior Department bureaucracy. Since 1990, park 
officials have been so adamant about removing the Ozark's wild horses 
and, I might add, changing their rationale every time as to why they 
want to, that they have spent countless taxpayers' dollars to take the 
issue up the court of appeals ladder.

                              {time}  1515

  Additionally, this entire time an unwieldy bureaucracy was fighting 
an amenable, rational, no cost solution strongly and vocally urged by 
the Missouri Wild Horse League and the public at large--that rationale 
being simply leave the horses alone.
  In fact, on one, including myself, necessarily wanted to pursue 
legislative action; however, we were forced to seek this route. In a 
three-page letter dated September 28, 1994, the Park Service stated 
that ``any amendatory or corrective legislation would have to be 
initiated by the U.S. Congress'' to keep them from rounding up the 
horses. Thus, representing the folks of southern Missouri together with 
the gentlemen from Missouri, Mr. Skelton and Mr. Hancock, I had no 
other choice but to proceed with this legislation to amend the Ozark 
National Scenic Riverways Act.
  In closing, let me say that the horses are a strong part of the 
regional lore, scenic beauty, and culture in southern Missouri. They 
also serve as a meaningful attraction for vacationing visitors who come 
to our area to fish, hunt, canoe, raft, or simply take in the great 
outdoors. The Ozark Wild Horses Protection Act will hopefully provide 
justice--once and for all--for the horses and the people who have stood 
beside them throughout these legal and bureaucratic hurdles.
  I urge strong passage of the Ozark Wild Horses Protection Act today, 
so that the measure can be pursued in Congress' other body. I have been 
working with our two Senators, Senator Bond and Senator Ashcroft, and 
they are ready to proceed with similar legislation in their Chamber 
following successful action today in the House. We must invoke the will 
of people unto the bureaucracy and not the other way around. As one of 
the slogans about the horses back home goes: ``Wild and Free--Let 'em 
Be.''
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton].
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico for 
yielding time to me.
  First, let me commend my friend, my colleague, the gentleman from 
southeast Missouri [Mr. Emerson], for this piece of legislation. But 
let me tell Members, it is a shame. It is a shame, Mr. Speaker, that 
this has to be done. The National Park Service, using good judgment, in 
its bureaucracy should have let the horses stay where they have been 
for some 60 years. And now they say, the only way they are going to 
stay, to our friend, the gentleman from southeast Missouri [Mr. 
Emerson], is to get legislation passed.
  To his credit, he is doing it. I certainly hope we will pass it here 
in the House unanimously. I certainly hope that the U.S. Senate will 
follow suit.
  There is such a thing as tradition in this country. There is such a 
thing as seeing things as they were in yesteryear in this country. We 
want tourists to come to Missouri. We want tourists to come to this 
country. We want them to see what happens, what has been around, what 
makes Americans Americans and Missouri Missouri. And the people 
understand that who live in our State.
  The Missouri Wild Horse League is going to work with the National 
Park Service under this bill, no expense to the Federal Government. 
Shame on the bureaucracy and the National Park Service. Let us get this 
done. And hooray and congratulations to our friend, Bill Emerson, from 
the State of Missouri.
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Again, I urge passage of this bill. I want to commend the gentleman 
from Missouri [Mr. Emerson] for excellent work and the eloquence of 
these two gentlemen from Missouri is nonpareil. I would like to simply 
add, let the horses go wild and free.
  Mr. Speaker, for decades now locals and visitors to the Ozark 
National Scenic Riverways have come to enjoy the sight of the free-
roaming horses which inhabit the area. When the National Park Service 
recommended removal of the horses in order to protect the riverways 
area, a fierce debate broke out.
  I would like to see the NPS and local community work together to 
allow a small number of horses the freedom to roam the area 
unencumbered. The bill before us will allow for the Wild Horse League 
of Missouri or a similar group to manage and care for the feral horses 
in the area. By taking on the management of these horses, the Wild 
Horse League or similar group will also be responsible for any damage 
caused by the horses. Further, the bill directs the National Park 
Service to provide grazing land for the horses.
  I support passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I, too, wanted to commend the gentlemen from 
Missouri, both of them on both sides of the aisle for putting forth, 
especially Mr. Emerson, this legislation. I think it is good 
legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it unanimously as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shays). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. Cooley] that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 238, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) 

[[Page H 11798]]
the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________