This 'Pickens plan' is for wild horses, and federal officials say it's problematic; money short, too

Last year, Madeleine Pickens, wife of oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, proposed a sanctuary for the more than 30,000 wild horses and burros. This week she discussed her plan with a House subcommittee and said it would be good for the country while also saving the government almost a billion dollars over the next decade.

Despite being initially welcomed as a way to save the horses from euthanization, the Pickens plan is being regarded as "problematic," Matthew Daly reports for the Associated Press. "We really appreciate Mrs. Pickens' proposal, but it has presented some problems," said Ed Roberson, assistant director of renewable resources and planning for the Bureau of Land Management, which runs the wild horse program.

"Roberson said officials are willing to continue talks with Pickens, but face 'unique challenges' in trying to care for wild horses while keeping down costs that topped $36 million last year," Daly writes. The integration of private and public funds also has some officials concerned. The BLM says annual costs could grow to $85 million by 2012 if the program is not changed.

Pickens told the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands the sanctuary would function as a "living museum" of the American West, while preventing the slaughter of thousands of horses. In addition to federal land use for the reserve, Pickens is seeking a federal stipend of $500 per horse per year -- $15 million per year for 30,000 horses -- in return for caring for them, which she estimated would save the government $700 million by 2020. Read more.

UPDATE, March 7: She had hoped to get foundaiton and other private support for the project, but "As the economy worsens by the week, Pickens says philanthropic donations are as dry as tumbleweed," reports Lyndsey Layton of The Washington Post. "Pickens still intends to spend $25 million to $50 million to purchase land for the ecosanctuary, but the deal is unworkable without government help, said Lee Otteni, who is retired from the [BLM] and working on the project for Pickens." (Read more)