Public comment on whether horses and cattle should be removed from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, a controversial issue with many who connect horses with the West, will be taken through November 24.

Originally, the park staff was collecting comments through October 25, but now has pushed the cutoff back until late November.

Removing a small number of longhorn cattle and about 200 feral horses from the park in western North Dakota has been a controversial proposal that generated nearly 20,000 comments during the initial "scoping period" held to solicit public thoughts on whether the National Park Service should continue to manage the horses and cattle or remove them from the park.

The park hasn't updated its horse management plan since 1978, and its cattle management plan dates to 1970. At issue is whether there should be any change in how the livestock are managed, whether the horses that roam the South Unit and the cattle in the North Unit should be removed as soon as possible, or whether the cattle should be removed and the horse herd reduced in number to a number of "fully contracepted horses" that would be allowed to live out their lives in the park.

The proposal open for comment does not contain a preferred alternative, but it does point out the negative impacts the horses have on the landscape and native species such as bison, elk, bighorn sheep, meadowlarks and sharp-tailed grouse, among others.

"Horses and cattle are nonnative species that trample vegetation and compact soil, causing adverse effects on habitat composition and quality," reads a section of the Environmental Assessment. "Horse and cattle herds also compete with native wildlife species, such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and bison, for food and water resources. Changing climate conditions may further limit available resources, making competition more severe and limiting the resource capacity for native species in the Park."

You can read about the proposal, and leave your comments, at this website.