| LEE VINING, Calif., Jan. 15, 2026 – The USDA Forest Service will begin an emergency operation to trap and move nine snow-bound wild horses located on the Inyo National Forest outside the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory. This emergency action is critical to ensuring the future health, well-being, and humane treatment of these wild horses as they are in critical jeopardy due to snow impact, limited water, and extremely limited forage.
In order to protect these wild horses, the Forest Service will deploy bait (hay) and water traps. The wild horses are in poor condition and require a methodic feeding and watering schedule. We ask the public to please not feed the wild horses as additional forage in their system can cause impaction colic and increase their risk of death. The horses will be transported to a Forest Service corral facility, where they will be maintained and cared for until next steps can be determined.
Due to the nature of the bait and water trap method, wild horses are reluctant to approach the trap site when there is too much activity; therefore, only essential personnel will be allowed at the trap site during the operation. We ask the public to not interfere with the operation.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology–and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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