Emphasize to NPS the need to limit access to the CIWA to protect wilderness values and that you are opposed to any development of the north end. Request NPS create an access point limited to non-motorized water craft south of the CIWA, perhaps at Old House dock. NPS should not make such a decision until the likely effect such increased access to a remote part of the island is determined. Maintaining feral horses throughout island. DWC questions the disparate treatment given feral horses as compared to feral hogs.
Any distinction is arbitrary.
DWC realizes that the feral horses have been used by some as a symbol for the island but this does not legitimize NPS s failure to protect the park s resources including CIWA from this non-native species. As stated by NPS, feral horses degrade the park s resources and should be controlled or removed. Moreover, feral horses are a remnant of man s presence and as such are not appropriate in a Wilderness Area. Additionally, the presence of feral horses create a human health issue as they serve as major hosts to ticks and other parasites which carry such diseases as Lyme disease and equine encephalitis. With fewer hosts, i.e., feral horses and hogs, the less ticks.