MISSOULA — Missoula County is launching a community-driven effort to address safety concerns involving the feral horses that roam the Miller Creek area, emphasizing that removal is not the goal.
The horses, which travel from south of Lolo through Miller Creek, have become a cherished part of Missoula's character.
Watch to learn more about the feral horses roaming in the Miller Creek area:
However, county officials say growing development in the area is creating potential conflicts between the horses and residents.
"We have this real challenge where we have them in areas where it's not safe necessarily for them to be both for the public but also for the horses," said Chris Lounsbury with Missoula County. "We have a duty and a responsibility to make sure that they are also protected as well."
The county is forming a working group that will include representatives from the Montana Department of Livestock, a livestock expert from Montana State University's extension office, community members, the Montana Highway Patrol and the Missoula County Sheriff's Office.
Lounsbury stressed that no predetermined outcome exists for the discussions.
"I think the first person I spoke with about this was convinced we were going to remove every one of them," Lounsbury said. "I don't think that's what management necessarily means. Management means making sure they're taken care of and the public is taken care of."
The horses are classified as feral, not wild, according to Jay Bodner with the Montana Department of Livestock. This means they don't fall under federal protections like those managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
"Wild horses are protected under the BLM, the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Act," Bodner said. "These horses are not classified under that."
The most widely accepted origin story traces the horses back to rodeo stock that belonged to Oral Zumwalt, who operated a 12,000-acre ranch in Miller Creek.
Others believe they're descendants of horses from the Salish Kootenai Tribe.
While other feral herds exist in Montana, county officials say the Miller Creek situation requires a uniquely local solution.
Potential approaches could include residential fencing, designated corridors for the horses, or other innovative strategies. The exact number of horses in the herd remains unclear.
Watch previous coverage: Missoula County exploring options for upper Miller Creek horses
"Miller Creek is definitely one of the areas that continues to grow and we're going to see more development there and so the chances for points of conflict are only going to grow with that," Lounsbury said. "Beautiful and majestic and there's need to protect the public and the horses because otherwise we risk sacrificing one or the other and no one wants to do that."
The county emphasizes that community input will drive whatever solution emerges. Residents can share their thoughts on the county's dedicated webpage.
"So the goal is really to come up with something that gives all of us a little more space to work in, and something that is more holistic and meets the needs of the community -- not just one or the other," Lounsbury said.
Comments about the feral horses in the Miller Creek area can be submitted here.
