SENATE BILL ON WILD HORSES TO BE HEARD SOON

Missouri's U.S. senators have gained a promise from Frank H. Murkowski that hearings will be held early next year on the Senate bill to protect wild horses in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Sens. Christopher "Kit" Bond and John Ashcroft co-signed the Ozark Wild Horse Protection Act to prevent the National Park Service from removing some 30 free-roaming horses for relocation or slaughter, except in medical emergencies or natural disasters.

Murkowski, chairman of the committee on Energy and Natural Resources has confirmed the commitment to act on the bill early in 1996.

The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior have been attempting to relocate the herd since 1990.

The Senate Bill will be a companion bill to the House bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson that passed the House of Representatives last month.

In expectation of congressional action, Emerson earlier gained agreement from the Park Service to delay any roundup until there is opportunity to consider the bill during the 104th Congress.

The House-passed bill prevents the removal of the horses and provides for agreements with private non-profit entities to take care of the horses.

Bond said Southeast Missouri citizens have struggled with the Park Service since 1990 to protect the horses. The National Park Service and Interior Department have gone to court to fight those who oppose removing the horses.

Bond said the Park Service's intention to remove the horses was another case of bureaucrats thinking they know best and disregarding the views of local citizens. He said the Park Service would find it difficult to even round up the horses that roam over 71,000 acres.

Ashcroft said he heard about protecting the horses from many Southeast Missourians during the 1994 campaign.

No one really knows for sure how long a herd of wild horses has been wandering along the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in what is now the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

Although their exact origin is unknown, they likely are descendants of horses that were released or escaped before the concept of open range ended in Missouri.