Wild Horses Getting a Nevada Sanctuary

Madeleine Pickens, longtime wild horse advocate and wife of billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens, has purchased the 14,000 acre Spruce Ranch east of Elko and plans to use it as a wild horse sanctuary. In the deal she also acquired grazing rights to public land and is in the process of adding the adjacent Warm Creek Ranch to her spread. According to a proposal prospectus submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Pickens is working with non-profit organization Saving America's Mustangs (SAM) to create a wild horse eco-sanctuary on the property.

Pickens wants to move 1,000 mustangs to the ranch for starters and is in negotiations with the BLM to do so. It would be the first time the government agency charged with overseeing wild horses and burros on public land has entered into such an arrangement. An agreement is pending BLM review of the proposal prospectus submitted by Pickens. "We are encouraged by the recent meetings with her. We're looking forward to working with her to put the wild horse program on a sustainable track," said BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington.

Followers of wild horses issues know controversy has been swirling around the subject for years. BLM management practices, defined in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, have been loudly criticized by a number of people and organizations. For more background information, see my article Nevada's Wild Horses. You can also vote in my forum poll What To Do About Wild Horses? and then add to the discussion with a comment.

Sources: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Reno Gazette-Journal.

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