Drummond group looks at sanctuary for wild horses

MISSOULA (AP) — A group in western Montana is seeking private land to place up to 325 wild horses that can’t be sustained on fewderal land.

The Rural Sustainability Organization in Drummond has applied to create a so-called “ecosanctuary” on private land to provide long-term homes for the horses. Drummond is located between Missoula and Helena.

“We’re still finding out if it’s going to happen,” Nancy Radke of the group, which has organized community projects in the Drummond area for 14 years, said. “We’re working with landowners to have different pieces of land available.”

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management estimates it has about 33,760 wild horses roaming on its lands in 10 Western states as of 2013. Montana has 145 wild horses on the agency’s Pryor Mountain land in the state, and Wyoming has 3,459 wild horses on 16 federal range areas.

“Our horse management areas are at capacity, and this is way more cost effective than holding them in short-term facilities,” said John Hill of the agency’s Missoula field office. “This is to provide for humane treatment for the horses.”

The 4,000-acre Deerwood Ranch near Laramie, Wyo., was among the the agency’s first wild horse ecosanctuaries. On Friday, owner Jana Wilson said the application process took about two years.

The Deerwood Ranch initially took in about 240 wild geldings in October 2012 and got 65 more last fall.