New Mexico saves over 150 wild cows with Forest Service
The New Mexico governor has entered the fray over how federal land trustees are eradicating wild cows in the Gila Wilderness.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement Friday saying she was disappointed by what she described as the US Forest Service’s lack of meaningful, long-term engagement with stakeholders on a controversial issue.
The Forest Service is currently conducting an aerial shooting operation to kill up to 150 “unauthorized” cows in a vast area of steep, rugged valleys and tree-covered mountainsides.
The operation has been the source of litigation and protests from the farming community of southwestern New Mexico.
Federal officials and environmentalists claim that the animals trample on creek banks and damage the habitat of other species. Ranchers argue that the operation constitutes animal cruelty and that the cows could be rounded up and removed instead of letting their carcasses rot in the wild.
A federal judge cleared the way for the operation on Wednesday when he denied a request by ranchers for a delay.
The governor said she shared her concerns with federal officials and asked them to do better.
“Whether it is mandatory burning or wildlife management, it is imperative that New Mexicans who live and work in and near affected areas are given the time to meaningfully participate in these decisions,” Lujan said Grisham. “Failing to do so will foster a persistent climate of distrust and impede progress toward our shared goals of a healthy environment and a prosperous rural economy.”
“It looks like they’re failing New Mexicans,” she said.
The Forest Service said Friday it shares the governor’s values on conservation and public engagement and will continue to advocate for transparency.
Agency spokesman Ivan Diego Knudsen said there had been extensive discussions with stakeholders in recent years and the agency had tried to address concerns. He said those discussions are continuing with the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, the New Mexico Livestock Board and the ranching community.
“Our hope is to work with cattle producers so we can achieve more effective operations than in the past,” Knudsen said in a statement.
The agency said it supports “an integrated approach, which can include both gatherings and aerial distances, to best fulfill our shared vision” for the wilderness area.
Ranchers had argued in court documents that the agency skipped the steps of rounding up and confiscating the cattle, opting instead for the last resort of gunning them down. Her attorney told the court the operation could result in an estimated 65 tons (59 tons) of dead animals being left in the wild for months, waiting to rot or be eaten by scavengers.
Gila National Forest made its final decision to shoot the unruly cattle last week, amid pressure from environmental groups who have expressed concerns about uncontrolled grazing in sensitive areas.
Todd Schulke, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, said his group believes the forest service has done its best to address the damage caused by wild cattle as little as possible.
The cattle in question are the descendants of cows that grazed the area legally in the 1970s before the owner went out of business. Federal officials have made several attempts to remove the animals over the past few decades, including a similar shooting in 2022 that killed 65 cows in two days.
The Forest Service said it will release the results early next week once the operation is complete.
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