On the recordFebruary 6, 2012
I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in 2007, the State of North Carolina, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the County of Currituck, and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund completed a Wild Horse Management Plan for the colonial Spanish Mustangs that live on the 7,544 acres of public and private lands in coastal North Carolina. This plan expires in April, and the Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated that they will not sign the 2012 plan. H.R. 306, authored by my friend and classmate Congressman Walter Jones from North Carolina, requires the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a new agreement within 180 days of enactment. It will also stabilize the number of horses to no more than 130, allow the introduction of a small number of Shackleford Banks horses to improve genetic diversity, and will ensure that the Corolla Wild Horse Fund will continue to pay for the costs of caring for and managing these horses. Mr. Speaker, these horses are living symbols of our colonial history. H.R. 306 ensures that they will survive in the future at no cost to our taxpayers. I want to thank my friend from North Carolina for his leadership on this matter, and I reserve the balance of my time.
