ASSATEAGUE — In an effort to reduce often dangerous and sometimes tragic interactions between visitors to Assateague and the wild horses that inhabit the barrier island, National Park Service officials this week announced two new regulations in the hopes of improving safety.
Superintendent Trish Kicklighter this week outlined several new initiatives aimed at preventing harmful interactions between Assateague’s wild horses and the visiting public.
The initiatives include a renewed effort to educate the public about the dangers of interacting with the wild horses along with a pair of new regulations intended to make sure the message gets across.
According to Kicklighter, although all of the horses are wild, some including the herd that lives nearly year-round in the developed area around Bayberry Drive have become very habituated to humans. Kicklighter said while the horses are far from tame, many have lost their natural fear of people.
“Visitors often mistake habituation for tameness, and that’s when the problems start,” she said. “Unfortunately, every year, some will learn the hard way by getting bitten or kicked, often severely.”
The increased interactions with people are also creating problems for the horses. When horses have lost their natural fear and associate people with food, they are more likely to stand by the side of the road looking for handouts. Consequently, an average of one horse per year dies as a result of being struck by a vehicle along park roads.
To that end, the National Park Service this week announced the adoption of two new regulations aimed at reducing the close encounters. The first prohibits approaching or remaining within 10 feet of any horse on the barrier island.
“Being too close to the horses just invites trouble,” said Chief Ranger Ted Morlock. “We would really prefer that no one gets within 20 feet, or about a bus length, but 10 feet is now the absolute legal minimum.”
The new rule also expands the existing ban on touching or feeding the horses by prohibiting any actions to attract them, such as offering them food.
The second new regulation deals specifically with the food issue. It requires campers and other visitors to properly secure food and food-related refuse. Unattended food, whether out in the open or inside tents, is a strong enticement and has led to some of the horses becoming aggressive in their pursuit. In many cases, this has led to horses ripping open fly screens and tents and opening non-locking coolers. The new regulation requires all food and food-refuse to be secured in hard-sided, lockable storage bins or coolers when not being used.
While the new regulations are officially on the books and are already being enforced, Assateague officials acknowledged this week there will be some leniency given until the public becomes more aware of them.
Breaking the new regulations come with a citation and a fine of up to $100, but park rangers are attempting to educate first before dropping the hammer.
“These are active regulations and we are already enforcing them, but we’re trying to start slow,” said Assateague Management Assistant Carl Zimmerman. “We’re being a little more generous until everybody gets up to speed on this, and we always shoot for the lowest level of enforcement, but we also won’t hesitate to issue citations for the most egregious violations.”
Kicklighter said she hopes the public will cooperate in the interest of its own safety and the safety of the horses.
“We’re really hoping that visitors will take this issue seriously and help us reduce the frequency of inappropriate interactions with the horses,” she said. “We recently had to remove an 18-year-old stallion from the island that had become dangerously aggressive in his pursuit of human food. Although we’ve found him a good home, it’s a shame that it had to come to that.”