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Miller Creek residents form alliance, urge county–city collaboration on free-roaming horses
Summary
Residents forming the Miller Creek Horse Alliance told commissioners Aug. 6 they seek a community-based management plan, proposed a 90‑day planning period and endorsed the draft’s move toward signage and fertility-control options coordinated with the Department of Livestock.
Jenny Johnson, speaking for the newly forming Miller Creek Horse Alliance, told commissioners the group has incorporated as a 501(c)(3) and established working groups on population management, health, traffic safety, signage and education.
"The purpose of the alliance is to provide community education and awareness, promote public safety, conduct herd research, management of the free roaming horses in our community," Johnson said. She proposed that Missoula County, the City of Missoula and the alliance collaborate to draft a comprehensive management plan and initially requested a 90‑day extension to finalize the alliance’s plan, though she acknowledged recent draft edits made that extension request less crucial.
Other residents described mixed experiences: some emphasized the horses as a community asset and urged coexistence; others raised safety concerns and called for clearer disposition procedures and published complaint records. Curtis Spindler, the Sorrel Springs petitioner who later spoke on a different agenda item, likewise outlined group organization and funding needs for infrastructure projects.
The chair and county staff repeatedly said the draft resolution favors coexistence, includes signage and would coordinate possible fertility-control work with the Department of Livestock; adoption is scheduled for Aug. 25.
