‘No’ to Pickens: Commissioners oppose horse sanctuary

After two-and-a-half hours of public comment and a presentation by Madeleine Pickens, Elko County Commissioners voted 3-1 Wednesday to oppose her wild horse sanctuary project. The county commission meeting room was packed with about 70 people in attendance and standing room only. “Give me a chance to open a sanctuary here,” Pickens pleaded during the meeting. She said she’s already spent several million dollars developing a business plan when she could have left that money to her daughter. Pickens, founder of the Saving America’s Mustangs foundation, encouraged commissioners to see if the project works. She bought the 14,000-acre Spruce Ranch near U.S. Highway 93 last month and one adjoining ranch, and is proposing to convert them into a wild horse sanctuary called “Mustang Monument.”...more