BUTTE, Mont. (AP) - The Bureau of Land Management says it's proceeding with a plan to move 700 wild horses to a ranch in southwestern Montana.

The Montana Standard reports (http://bit.ly/W8wsl4) the first truckloads of horses are due to arrive at the 15,000-acre Spanish Q Ranch northwest of Ennis as early as Wednesday. BLM officials say all the horses are expected to be at the ranch by March 18.

The Spanish Q has a 10-year contract with the BLM to house the horse at a cost of $1.36 per animal per day, much less than the average $5.50 cost at short-term facilities in Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Oklahoma

The ranch will hold horses that have been captured to control population levels on public land and have not been adopted.

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