Billionaire Madeleine Pickens, wife of T. Boone Pickens, told her followers in a note on Friday that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had accepted her proposal for a pilot program that would begin getting wild horses out of long term holding. Starting with 1,000 horses and growing, their destination would be a private sanctuary owned by Pickens. While she posted the following reaction to the BLM’s alleged agreement on her website, the BLM is saying that they haven’t given her the go-ahead quite yet.
Northern Ag Network spoke with the BLM’s Tom Gorey on Tuesday morning. Gorey works with public affairs out of the D.C. office.
He told us that they had not yet received a formal proposal from Pickens, but that Pickens and the BLM leadership have had recent, positive meetings.Gorey told us that it is his understanding that the “sanctuary” will be at the ranch Mrs. Pickens has purchased in Nevada. For more information on her efforts, visit her website. Her advisory committee includes names such as Toby Keith, Troy Aikman, Jenny Craig and Emmitt Smith.
In our conversation, Gorey added that the BLM very much appreciated the interest of Mrs. Pickens in helping the agency deal with one of the most challenging issues it faces. In the current holding facilities, there are more than 34,500 horses. The cost of maintaining these horses takes over 60{4d08edaf359bc2115b18a651716ebd427a137946ddca2143fa23b3ea721061e4} of the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program budget.
© Northern Ag Network 2010
Haylie Shipp
