The U.S. Forest Service approved the plan to protect sensitive spots in the nation's first designated wilderness area. The move sets the stage for legal challenges over how to handle unbranded livestock and other stray cows as drought deepens in the West.
U.S. Forest Service managers approved the plan Thursday to protect sensitive spots in the nation's first designated wilderness area. The move sets the stage for legal challenges over how to handle unbranded livestock and other stray cows as drought deepens in the West.
Ranching industry groups and other rural advocates are concerned that the action taken in New Mexico could set a precedent as more grazing parcels become vacant across the West. Tom Paterson, chair of the association's wildlife committee, said the group has tried to find a solution that wouldn't involve shooting feral cattle. He pointed to a recent directive issued by the New Mexico Livestock Board that allows neighboring permittees to gather and herd the cattle out.
Environmentalists in dozens of lawsuits filed in courts around the West over the years have argued that cattle ruin the land and water by trampling stream banks. They applauded the Forest Service's decision. Just last month, environmentalists sued in Montana over a program aimed at managing grizzly bears. In 2021, conservation groups settled another lawsuit over Wildlife Services' practices in Idaho. Environmental groups there and elsewhere have long claimed that the agency's predator-control activities violate environmental laws.
According to the Forest Service, the feral cattle problem dates back a half-century, when a cattle operation went out of business and subsequent grazing permits were suspended. Hundreds of unauthorized cattle have been removed over the years.
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