ELKO, Nev. (AP) — An Elko County commissioner says a proposed eco-sanctuary for hundreds of wild horses in northeast Nevada will damage the range and could put some ranchers out of business.
Demar Dahl says backers of the project “have a big hurdle to cross” to prove the concentration of as many as 900 horses won’t cause harm to public rangeland in violation of U.S. environmental regulations.
He told the Elko Daily Free Press it makes no sense to him to take viable cattle ranches important to the economy and turn them into taxpayer-supported horse reserves.
Madeleine Pickens and her non-profit group Saving America’s Mustangs want to establish the eco-sanctuary across nearly 100 square miles east of Elko and south of U.S. Interstate 80 — from the Ruby Valley to near the Utah line.
