A privately-owned Wyoming ranch could become the site of the first eco-sanctuary for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustangs and burros.

Last year, the BLM solicited proposals from private sector individuals and organizations interested in partnering with the agency to develop eco-sanctuaries for wild horses and burros, which would help the BLM feed and care for excess animals that have been removed from Western public rangelands and would be publicly accessible with a potential for eco-tourism.

On Feb. 24 the agency announced that the 4,000-acre Deerwood Ranch located in the Centennial Valley in Southwestern, Wyo., was chosen for ecological review. The review is required under provisions of the National Environmental Police Act and will determine the site’s environmental viability as a wild horse sanctuary. Tom Gorey, BLM spokesman, said that if the results of the ecological review reveal that the site is suitable, the agency would pursue a partnership agreement with ranch owners Richard and Jana Wilson. If a partnership agreement is finalized, the ranch could become home to more than 250 wild mustangs.

Under terms of the agreement, the BLM would sponsor the eco-sanctuary at a funding level comparable to what the agency pays ranchers who care for animals residing in long-term holding facilities in the Midwest, Gorey said. The partnership agreement would also include funding to help defray sanctuary operating costs, he said