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Environmental groups say federal agencies need to remove about 160 cows that are illegally grazing in Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico. The cattle, which come from nearby grazing allotments in Santa Fe National Forest, have been grazing in the preserve since 2017. At least three endangered species may be impacted by habitat disturbance caused by grazing, including the Jemez mountain salamander, the meadow jumping mouse, and the Mexican spotted owl. Grazing can also cause erosion on streambanks and pollute drinking water for downstream users. Anglers, hunters, hikers, and mountain bikers who enjoy the preserve have complained that the cattle interfere with their experience.
Advocacy groups recently issued a notice of intent to sue the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act, alleging that the agencies have failed to protect endangered species from the impacts of the cattle. To protect the species in the preserve, agencies need to remove cows from the land and rebuild a damaged fence that is allowing the cows to enter. The fence is currently damaged from normal wear and tear, but also from intentional vandalism by nearby ranchers.
“We worked for years with others to get the Valles Caldera into the National Park System because the Park Service has the highest standards of land protection of any federal agency,” Tom Ribe, executive director of Caldera Action, said in a press release. “We trusted they would protect the Caldera from all sorts of possible damage. They closed the majority of the Preserve to cattle grazing but then looked the other way while cows flooded in across vandalized and damaged fences. We have no idea why the management doesn’t respond to this blatant trespass. It is not consistent with Park Service policies.”
According to Madeleine Carey, the southwest conservation manager for WildEarth Guardians, federal agencies have two options to solve the illegal grazing issue, and they will likely need to do both. First, they should round up the cattle and hold them in pens at the owners’ expense. Then, they would need to prevent future vandalism by replacing the damaged fence with a pipe and cable fence that's harder to cut.
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If Congress isn’t willing to get the job done to protect the public lands that fuel our economy and serve as the core backdrop as we raise our kids outside, then we should look at tools such as the Antiquities Act, used by Republican and Democrat administrations alike to do the right thing and ensure that we are leaving our nation better than we found it for generations to come.”
