Louisiana
Louisiana’s wild horses may have roamed Kisatchie Forest for centuries, but is this the end?
In Vernon Parish, a herd of wild horses has roamed the Kisatchie National Forest for years.
Some people speculate that the horses have been there for centuries.
And as far as the horses were concerned, the 48,000-acre forest in which they roamed was their habitat. After all, the Vernon Parish location was historically known as Louisiana’s “No Man’s Land.” Today, the land belongs to the U.S. Army.
The parcel in question is a part of the 90,000 acres of Kisatchie National Forest land that Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk, now uses for training. The base stands outside of Leesville, and the horses were breaching it.
The Army’s official term for the equines is “trespass horses,” and it wants them off its land, saying they have been a safety risk in training areas.
Horses at Fort Polk, now Fort Johnson, from a photo published by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) on Sept. 20, 2014.
So, in 2015, the Army announced that it would start removing them. A group of local people answered that move that same year by forming an organization called the Pegasus Equine Guardian Association to save the horses.
But this isn’t the chapter of the story that sparked James Minton’s curiosity about the wild herd.
“I understand there is a sizable wild horse herd on or around Fort Polk, now Fort Johnson,” the Denham Springs resident wrote. “What’s the story about these horses?”
Minton, a former reporter for The Advocate, said he had no knowledge of the herd when he was in the Army.
“I took basic training on Polk’s South Fort and a leadership course and advanced infantry training at North Fort, called Tigerland, in 1969,” Minton said. “Although we were warned about harming wildlife such as deer and snakes, we were never told about wild horses. I saw something on Facebook recently about a wild horse herd, and I wondered about its origin.”
A herd of wild horses thought to have been introduced to Louisiana by the Spanish and bred by the Choctaw Indians drink from a water hole in the Kisatchie Forest’s Vernon Unit.
As for the herd’s origin, the main consensus is that the horses are descendants of those brought to the New World in 1590 by Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto and his crew, then bred by the Choctaw Indians.
“These horses have been here for generations,” said Amy Hanchey, president of the DeRidder-based Pegasus Equine Guardian Association.
Through historical analysis and study of these horses’ genetics, Hanchey says that there is data that indicates that the horses have been in the Louisiana forest since before the Spanish came to America.
“We’re talking centuries before, so because of the science behind it, it’s always evolving,” Hanchey said.
Still, the science shows that the horses born into this herd possess a unique gene traced to Spain and Portugal.
It’s said that the herd of wild horses that congregates in the Kisatchie Forest’s Vernon Unit that Fort Johnson uses for training has the Iberian gene in its DNA.
“It’s called the Iberian gene,” Hanchey said. “We found it through the process of obtaining these horses and genetic analysis by Dr. Gus Cothran at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Phillip Sponenberg at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.”
The Associated Press reported in 2018 that Sponenberg is an expert in Choctaw horses. The news agency included Sponenberg’s written statement on the issue:
“Photographs of some Fort Polk horses ‘show physical traits typical of the old Colonial Spanish type, which is rare among other horses in the United States,’” Sponenberg wrote, noting that horses with those traits generally turn out to have DNA that proves their heritage.
If these are colonial Spanish horses, he wrote, “this population would be a high priority for conservation as a genetic resource that is otherwise rare in North America.”
So, what is the Iberian gene? Well, it’s connected to an ancestry of horses that originated in the Iberian Peninsula shared by Spain and Portugal.
A herd of wild horses in the Kisatchie Forest’s Vernon Unit at Fort Johnson is said to have been living in the area for centuries.
Horse breeds sharing this gene include Andalusian, Lusitano, Carthusian, Marismeño and Sorraia. Now the horses roaming Kisatchie’s Vernon Unit can be included among those elite breeds.
“The Iberian gene is a federally protected gene,” Hanchey said. “So, we are trying to get some federal and state recognition.”
According to the association’s website, pegasusequine.wordpress.com, many of the Kisatchie-based horses are descended from those of “Native American tribes, heritage families, settlers and farmers in the area that had been used for many purposes as they toiled to carve out a rugged existence in the early years, long before Louisiana became a state in 1812.”
The Army wanted them off its base, partly because the animals weren’t afraid of humans, which made the horses a potential hazard to the training area. Photos in the July 2018 edition of Army Times newspaper show the horses grazing on the backdrop of the Army base, along with another of a horse lying in the middle of a base road, blocking a convoy.
The nonprofit Pegasus Equine Guardian Association, represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, filed suit in the Louisiana District Court against the U.S. Army and Fort Polk, charging that the Army’s plan to eliminate herds of horses violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.
A herd of wild horses graze in an open field near Fort Johnson. The U.S. Army has been removing the horses from the area since 2015, saying they are a safety hazard to soldiers training in the area.
As reported by The Associated Press in 2018, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Foote accepted a magistrate judge’s findings that Pegasus Equine Guardian Association has not proved that people whose families lost land when the Army base was created in 1941 would suffer irreparable harm if more horses are sent away.
Hanchey said the area where the horses mingled and grazed was the Drop Zone.
“It’s the airstrip field,” she said. “It’s a cleared area that’s like a meadow with a whole lot of grass, and the horses have been cleared out, but there are some that still congregate there. The other area they still congregate in is Peason Ridge.”
This 74,309-acre tract of land has been renamed Johnson Wildlife Management Area and is used by the Army as a military training facility while also working cooperatively with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for management of habitat for wildlife resources and public outdoor recreational activities.
A herd of wild horses graze in an open field near Fort Johnson. The U.S. Army has been removing the horses from the area since 2015, saying they are a safety hazard to soldiers training in the area.
The military began removing horses from the fort in 1993 and tried sterilizing them in 2010. Though the nonprofit did not win its case, it was able to save 100 horses and place them in a sanctuary, while the Army cleared out some 360 horses.
“They rounded the horses up, and they were required to offer them to nonprofit organizations,” Hanchey said. “We were the third or fourth nonprofit on the list.”
The association has separated male horses from the females in its sanctuary. While this arrangement prevents the animals from breeding, it also disrupts the horses’ herd family groups.
“Within the herd, there are little family herds, where you have eight or 10 horses with a lead stallion and a bunch of mares,” Hanchey said. “You may have a bachelor or young male horse with the group, who will eventually be driven out. Once we took them in, you still see the mares hanging out with their little family group.”
The association established its no breeding policy for ethical reasons.
“It just wouldn’t be right,” Hanchey said. “One hundred horses are a lot of horses, and we are doing what we can to take care of that many.”
More than half of Louisiana’s WIC clinics failed to meet required outreach standards, most operated only during traditional business hours, and the state ranked last in the nation for participation in the federal nutrition program, according to a performance audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
The analysis found the Louisiana Department of Health did not adequately oversee outreach efforts intended to connect eligible women, infants and children with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC.
Auditors concluded stronger oversight, expanded clinic access and improved community outreach could increase participation among families eligible for the federally funded program.
The audit also found Louisiana returned approximately $111.6 million in unused federal WIC food benefits to the U.S. Department of Agriculture between federal fiscal years 2021 and 2024 because eligible participants did not redeem them. The benefits were federal funds, not state taxpayer dollars.
During federal fiscal year 2024, about 92,000 people participated in Louisiana’s WIC program even though an estimated 196,000 residents were eligible, placing the state last nationally for participation.
State policy requires every WIC clinic to conduct at least one outreach activity each month to raise awareness of the program among eligible residents. However, auditors found 56 of Louisiana’s 100 WIC clinics failed to report meeting that requirement during federal fiscal year 2025, up from 51 clinics the previous year.
The audit also found weaknesses in the department’s oversight. Although the department said it reviews clinic outreach reports and issues findings when clinics fail to comply, auditors determined it identified only four of the 56 clinics that failed to meet the monthly outreach requirement.
According to the audit, the department generally reviews outreach activities only during comprehensive evaluations, which state policy requires for at least 20% of clinics each year, rather than reviewing reports submitted by every clinic.
Auditors also found clinics lacked clear guidance on what qualified as outreach. They reviewed 3,780 outreach activities reported during federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and found 328 were not consistent with the department’s outreach goals.
Examples included answering telephone calls, donating unused infant formula and processing prescription formula requests for participants already enrolled in the program rather than activities intended to reach eligible families who were not participating.
Access to services presented another challenge. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 77% of WIC households nationally include working families, 81 of Louisiana’s 100 WIC clinics operate only between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Just 19 clinics offer appointments outside those hours, and only two provide weekend appointments. The department’s own 2024 WIC Participant Satisfaction Survey found that 275 of 518 complaints, or 53.1%, involved appointment availability.
The audit also found Louisiana has limited alternatives for residents who cannot easily travel to a clinic. While at least 11 states use mobile WIC clinics or other approaches to deliver services outside traditional offices, Louisiana operates one mobile clinic that serves Barksdale Air Force Base. Auditors identified several communities, including Vinton, Raceland, Kaplan, Jeanerette and Mandeville, where large numbers of lower-income residents live more than 10 miles from the nearest WIC clinic.
In addition to recommending expanded mobile services, auditors said the department should increase off-site appointments in the community and strengthen partnerships with home visiting programs that can help enroll eligible mothers and children. The report noted other states have used community-based appointments to increase enrollment and said Louisiana could build on its existing partnership with the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program to help families enroll outside traditional clinic settings.
Survey results included in the audit suggest personal connections often played a larger role in enrollment than clinic outreach. Among 424 current WIC participants surveyed, 63.7% said family or friends encouraged them to enroll, while 42.7% said a medical professional encouraged them.
To improve participation, auditors recommended the department review outreach reports from every clinic each month, provide clearer guidance on acceptable outreach activities, expand appointment availability outside traditional business hours, increase mobile and off-site services, and continue developing partnerships that help enroll families in community settings.
The Louisiana Department of Health agreed with the recommendations. In its response, the department said it will begin reviewing outreach reports from every clinic each month, update outreach policies and clinic toolkits, and continue a statewide initiative launched in December 2025 aimed at increasing WIC participation by 25% by the end of 2026.
A small town police chief admitted Tuesday to pocketing thousands of dollars in kickbacks to churn out bogus police reports, marking the fourth and final lawman to plead guilty in an immigration fraud case that has roiled central Louisiana since it became public last year.
Former Forest Hills Police Chief Glynn Dixon, one of four cops charged last summer under what federal prosecutors called a yearslong scheme to profit from bogus visa applications, entered a “guilty” plea Tuesday on a single count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, court records show.
An attorney listed in court records as representing Dixon, Kevin Stockstill, did not immediately respond to an email and phone message.
The former chief initially denied the charges for which he was arrested last July alongside three other lawmen and an Oakdale-based businessman.
Federal prosecutors in a 62-count indictment accused the businessman, Chandrakant Patel, of illicitly paying Dixon, plus Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea, Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle and Oakdale Marshal Michael Slaney to churn out bogus reports naming immigrants as violent crime victims. The immigrants then used the reports to apply for “U-visas” — papers for crime victims who cooperate with police investigations — with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, prosecutors said.
In an affidavit filed Tuesday in Alexandria federal court, Dixon admitted to generating at least 69 doctored reports for Patel between August 2023 and July 2025. But prosecutors said the broader scheme may have started years earlier.
Immigrants paid Patel, himself the recipient of U-visa issued in 2023, $20,000 to obtain a police report for them, prosecutors say. He then paid the lawmen around $5,000 per bogus report they generated.
The result, on paper, was what looked like a wave of violent crime across a typically sleepy swath of central Louisiana. (Forest Hill, the Rapides Parish hamlet where Dixon was chief, has a population of just over 600, according to Census data.)
Agents from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigations arm caught on when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services flagged the huge flare in U-visa applications with corresponding police reports from the sparsely populated, rural area, officials have said.
A large mural on the corner of E 6th Avenue and 9th Street welcomes visitors to downtown on Thursday, July 17, 2025 in Oakdale, Louisiana.
Doyle, Onishea, Slaney and Patel each pleaded guilty recently under agreements with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana in several court hearings that came in quick succession, records show.
In Patel’s plea agreement from May 28, he admitted to orchestrating the scheme for at least five years beginning in 2020. He sought law enforcement collaborators to supply and certify the reports needed for U-visa applications, his agreement says.
He admitted to using proceeds from the scheme to buy gold bars, a Swiss Ingot watch, rings, several central Louisiana properties and other items.
The indictment and subsequent plea deals landed as President Donald Trump’s administration has de-prioritized federal law enforcement’s focus on public corruption and white collar criminal investigations, focusing instead on its broad immigration crackdown, plus violent crime and drug trafficking enforcement.
Still, law enforcement agents who investigated the central Louisiana case called the wave of guilty pleas a sign of accountability for public officials who breach the public trust.
“When anyone, including public officials, exploits immigration relief programs or commits fraud against the government, HSI and our law enforcement partners will investigate, dismantle these schemes, and work to bring those responsible to justice,” said Matt Wright, HSI’s New Orleans-based acting special agent in charge.
By admitting guilt, Patel acknowledged in his plea agreement that he faces revocation of his immigration status and deportation.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana’s summer heat is becoming harder to ignore, with rising temperatures, higher humidity and thousands of heat-related emergency room visits in recent years.
Across all 64 parishes, average summer temperatures have risen since 1970, according to Climate Central, a nonprofit research group.
In 2023, Louisiana reported a record-breaking 88 heat-related deaths, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. More than 6,100 people went to emergency rooms that year because of heat-related symptoms.
Tony Coker felt how quickly that heat can become dangerous while working his landscaping job last week.
Coker was among a crew cutting grass near LSU’s School of Public Health in New Orleans. He said the heat forced him to stop working.
“I got to a point, I was like, ‘OK guys, you’re going to have to finish. I’m done. My stomach is hurting. I’m sitting down for a minute and I’m going to go home,’” Coker said.
During Louisiana’s often-brutal summers, Coker takes steps to protect himself while working his landscaping job.
“I got this hat on. It’s a little hotter with long sleeves, but it keeps the sun off the body. I wear sunscreen to make sure to get as much protection as possible, you know 100 SPF,” Coker said.
Heat safety
Heat illness in Louisiana
Heat-related illness has sent thousands of people to emergency rooms in Louisiana in recent years.
Heat-related deaths
- 2023: 88 deaths
- 2024: 53 deaths
- 2025: 31 deaths
Emergency room visits
- 2023: 6,187 visits
- 2024: 4,471 visits
- 2025: 4,194 visits
- 2026: 935 visits as of June 30
Signs of heat illness
- Heavy sweating
- Weakness or dizziness
- Nausea
- Headache
- Muscle cramps
- Confusion
- Fainting
How to stay safe
- Drink water before you feel thirsty
- Take breaks in shade or air conditioning
- Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing
- Limit strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day
- Check on older adults, children and people without reliable air conditioning
Call 911 if someone is confused, faints, stops sweating or shows signs of heat stroke.
Source: Louisiana Department of Health
According to Climate Central, a nonprofit research group, the average annual temperature in New Orleans has risen by 4.5 degrees since 1970.
The group’s newest summer analysis shows the warming is not limited to New Orleans. Among Louisiana cities analyzed, Shreveport has seen the largest increase in average summer temperatures since 1970, at 4.3 degrees, followed by New Orleans at 4.1 degrees. New Orleans, however, saw the largest increase in hotter-than-normal summer days, with 53 more days above normal than in the early 1970s.
Climate Central’s parish-level data shows average summer temperature increases ranging from 1.4 degrees in Avoyelles and Evangeline parishes to 3.1 degrees in Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Sabine and Terrebonne parishes.
In Orleans Parish, average summer temperatures have risen by 2.5 degrees since 1970, according to Climate Central’s parish-level data.
“It was relatively cool in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and then we went on this rapid warming trend, mimicking what’s going on across the globe, and it’s been very hot,” said Dr. Barry Keim, professor and program director of environmental health, climate and sustainability at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
Keim, a climatologist, said Louisiana’s humidity makes the heat feel even worse. He said humidity levels have also risen since the 1970s.
“Bottom line is, not only are the temperatures getting warmer, the humidity is going up, and then when you put the two together it just makes it feel horrible out here,” Keim said.
As the Fourth of July approaches, Keim said there will not be much relief in the form of rain. Louisiana is expected to stay hot and humid.
Forecasts show highs mainly in the low to mid-90s across Louisiana on Independence Day, with heat index values expected to reach the 100s in parts of the state and scattered afternoon storms possible
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