The Bureau of Land Management launched emergency gather operations in early September to rescue wild horses from two southeast Oregon herd management areas facing severe food and water shortages caused by the state’s devastating 2026 wildfire season.
A second emergency operation targeting the Riddle Mountain herd was announced Sept. 3, one day after the first gather began, according to the BLM.
Oregon’s 2026 wildfire season has burned approximately 2.5 million acres of rangeland, devastating forage for both wild horses and livestock across the region, the agency said.
The emergency gathers temporarily remove horses from the range to prevent starvation and dehydration when natural food and water sources have been destroyed by fire.
Wild horse management on federal land is governed by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and has long been a source of controversy. Ranchers argue that wild horse populations are too large and compete with livestock for limited forage, while animal welfare advocates oppose roundups and push for fertility management alternatives.
For communities and ranchers across southeast Oregon, the compounding effects of wildfire and drought have created an ecological crisis affecting both wild and domestic animals on the range.
The BLM manages approximately 82,000 wild horses and burros across Western public lands, a population that exceeds the agency’s estimated sustainable level by tens of thousands of animals. The emergency operations in Oregon add to the logistical and financial demands of an already strained wild horse management program.
The gathered horses will be transported to BLM holding facilities, where they may be offered for adoption.