A plan to develop the country's first state-owned wild horse sanctuary was stalled yesterday when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced that revenue set aside to develop the sanctuary would instead be used to offset cuts in state services and prevent further furloughs and layoffs among state employees.

On Sept. 16 Richardson announced he would use $2.8 million in funds awarded to the state under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009–also known as the stimulus bill–to purchase the 12,142 -acre Ortiz Mountain Ranch from the Nature Conservancy (an international land conservation organization) and a private owner. The addition of the ranch would have expanded the Cerrillos Hills State Park to create the sanctuary.

The New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources would have maintained the sanctuary, said Department spokeswoman Jodi Porter. A nonprofit agency would have managed the horses that would have resided there.

With the state facing a budgetary shortfall, the majority of the funds designated for the sanctuary's development will now be placed in the general fund, Richardson said