VAN BUREN WILL HOST WILD HORSE RALLY TODAY

VAN BUREN -- Five hundred to 800 horses and riders are expected to converge upon the National Park Service office at Van Buren today to lobby to keep a herd of wild horses roaming free.

The wild-horse rally is slated for 2 p.m., said Douglas Kennedy, a Poplar Bluff attorney who represents the Missouri Wild Horse League.

The National Park Service had proposed removing a herd of about 20 wild horses that roam an area along the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Shannon County.

Park Service officials said the horses are not native to the wilderness area and have damaged vegetation. They have also suggested that some of the horses may be in poor health, a view disputed by the horse league.

The proposed removal has been opposed by area horse lovers and U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson.

Earlier this week, the National Park Service announced it had "indefinitely postponed" removal of the horses to allow time for all groups involved to examine possible alternatives.

But Kennedy said Thursday the announcement offers little comfort to the Wild Horse League.

"They've given us nothing definite," he said. "We just feel it is an effort to mitigate the impact of the rally."

Said Kennedy, "It's just another Park Service promise to re-examine, but we don't feel they have re-examined the situation in good faith in the past when they have made the same promise."

He said the league wants a permanent, written commitment that the wild horses won't be removed.

"They (the Park Service) did say in their press release that they want to proactively approach this issue and work with the Wild Horse League.

"I will have faith in a written promise by the National Park Service that the horses will remain," said Kennedy.

The Missouri Wild Horse League has offered to help manage the herd, he said.

Kennedy said Art Sullivan, superintendent of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, had requested that the rally be canceled.

Sullivan could not be reached for comment. But Tom Griffiths, assistant superintendent, said Sullivan had offered to meet with league members at a trail-ride facility at Eminence.

The Park Service office is situated along Highway 60. Griffiths said the scheduled rally could cause major traffic problems. The local school district is letting out classes early in anticipation of traffic tie-ups, said Griffiths.

"I am most concerned about the safety of the people on horses; that many horses in a closed area and on pavement," he said.

Griffiths said the recent announcement by the Park Service reflects a willingness to resolve the matter. In the past, he said, "we probably have not proactively tried to work with this group and sit down with them."

The Wild Horse League is apparently proposing a management plan for preserving the wild horse herd, but Griffiths said he has not seen it.

Griffiths said the announced postponement of removal plans is "pretty open ended."

"I don't think there is any intent to do anything rapidly. Obviously, with this level of public interest, with these kinds of differences, it is going to be difficult negotiating solutions to the problem, but we have to do it," he said.