Wild horses straying from California, Nevada to be rounded up. Why?

Hundreds of wild horses straying outside a swath of territory spanning California and Nevada are set to be rounded up starting Wednesday, July 8. While officials say it's necessary to remove the excess horses in part to protect habitats and for public safety, one tribe based in California has sought to block an operation they say will cause harm, including to the animals.

The Inyo National Forest plans to gather 450 wild horses from outside the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory, according to a news release on June 22. The territory is an approximately 200,000-acre stretch of land in California and Nevada and with a portion of it in the Inyo National Forest, according to the Inyo National Forest.

Areas temporarily closed for the horse operation include near Mono Lake and to its east, according to maps shared online by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

These wild horses will be evaluated by a veterinarian and be prepared for adoption programs, according to Inyo National Forest.

While the roundup is planned for one to two weeks, it may end sooner depending on the number of horses gathered each day, according to the agency.

Here's what to know:

Why officials say they need to remove the horses

The Inyo National Forest said there are at least 694 wild horses, with the bulk of these animals located outside the territory boundaries. However, the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory is managed for a wild horse population of 138 to 230 animals, according to Inyo National Forest.

"Rangeland, hydrologic and wildlife habitat conditions are deteriorating" on federal, state and private lands outside of the territory "due to horse presence," Inyo National Forest said, citing "trampling and manure damage to international migratory bird nesting areas" or to rock formations at Mono Lake, among other areas.

Officials also said these horses pose safety concerns for motorists and cyclists, and that overpopulation of wild horses increases competition for limited resources.

What a tribe is saying in response

The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation filed a lawsuit at the end of June to block the looming operation and sought a temporary restraining order to immediately halt any activity related to removing the horses - the latter denied by a United States District Court for the Eastern District of California judge on Tuesday, July 7. They allege that that United States Department of the Interior, including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have not consulted with them.

The tribe's reservation is in Mono County. According to the complaint, the wild horse operation area includes where their reservation is at and that their ancestral homeland encompasses the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory.

The federal agencies are alleged to have not identified cultural resources or sacred sites within the removal area, nor have assessed the effect of how they'll gather the horses - using helicopters, for example - will have on the "landscape" the tribe are "stewards" of.

"The Inyo National Forest conducts regular government‑to‑government consultation with Tribal governments, including formal consultation, requests for input, information‑sharing at meetings, and ongoing discussions with Tribal representatives," the U.S. Forest Service said in an emailed statement to the USA TODAY Network.

According to the complaint, the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory and surrounding area contain springs used for "gathering and ceremony," "ancestral campsites and homesites," burial areas, petroglyphs depicting the tribe's relationship with the horses and more. The wild horses in and of itself are considered to be part of "the living cultural landscape" of the tribe, with their removal altering the "character of a sacred landscape," according to the complaint.

The wild horse roundup operations pose a major risk to damaging burial areas, springs, petroglyphs and more, and it can cause stress to the horses to the point of injury and death, according to the complaint.

The Inyo National Forest said in their explanation of how the horses will be rounded up that all of their operations follow "Comprehensive Animal Welfare Standards and Standard Operating Procedures, developed to ensure safe and humane gather operations and minimize potential stress and injury to wild horses."

"Humane handling and care of wild horses is a top priority for the Forest Service," according to FAQs on Inyo National Forest's webpage.

In a statement, the vice chairwoman of the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation said the horses are "part of who we are and where we come from."

"What is being planned for July 8 is not management," Rana Saulque said. "It is erasure, and we will not stand by while it happens."

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wild horses straying from California, Nevada to be rounded up. Why?

Reporting by Paris Barraza, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 7:25 PM.