How would 1,900 more cows grazing along the Salt River affect the land and the wildlife?

As the Sonoran Desert fades beyond the horizon and flat lands slowly give way, the rugged landscape of Tonto National Forest bends toward the sky east of Phoenix. Desert-dwelling saguaros are replaced by pine forests that are a refuge for campers and hikers looking to escape the arid conditions.

But the euphonic buzz of cicadas hiding in the shade of juniper trees in a remote area of the protected land may soon be drowned out by the lowing of cows.

The U.S Forest Service is considering a plan to authorize up to 1,900 new cattle to graze along the Salt River, with additional livestock infrastructure in the Salt River Canyon Wilderness Area.

The project, known as the Hicks-Pike Peak grazing authorization, would permit the expansion of cattle grazing, add nearly 6 miles of fencing along the Salt River and allow cattle in an area that has not been grazed by livestock in over a decade.

These proposed actions are in accordance with the congressional grazing guidelines under the Wilderness Act of 1964, according to the Forest Service.

The Forest Service says the authorization has not yet been approved because the objection process is still ongoing. The purpose of the proposed action is to reauthorize and expand an existing permit that includes established pastures within the allotment.

Conservation groups oppose the plan because of adverse environmental impacts. They believe the Forest Service is ignoring science in favor of ranchers.The Forest Service maintains its decisions are in line with the best conservation data.

The Western Watersheds Project has objected to the idea of more cattle being introduced to the wilderness area. The group says the additional cattle and infrastructure would be inimical to the ecology of Tonto. Everything from endangered species to the quality of water is at stake, the group believes.

“We are concerned that commercial livestock use is being expanded in some of the wildest and most ecologically important places in Arizona, and the Forest Service is not telling the public just how bad the impacts from cattle grazing really are,” said Cyndi Tuell, the Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project. “It’s a major reason that many of Arizona’s wildlife are in danger of extinction, and we’re concerned that special interests are dictating how public lands are being used.”

Livestock numbers have increased

The new authorization comes after a 2021 decision was pulled following four objections, including one by the Rockin Four Ranch. Rockin Four Ranch has been the permittee of the Hicks-Pike Peak allotment since 2006.

The Rockin Four Ranch opposed the Forest Service’s proposals for maintaining scenic view sheds, setting minimum vegetation heights for wildlife habitat, and the requirements from the Forest Service to maintain wildlife escape ramps in livestock waters.

The Rockin Four Ranch opposed the Forest Service’s proposals for maintaining scenic view sheds, setting minimum vegetation heights for wildlife habitat, and the requirements from the Forest Service to maintain wildlife escape ramps in livestock waters.

Conservation groups like the Western Watersheds Project and Center for Biological Diversity, which also objected last year, believe that Rockin Four was not satisfied with the Forest Service conservation requirements.

“That’s a very simple standard provision,” Tuell said. “That provision is in there to protect wildlife and cover for small birds and mammals.”

After the 2021 decision was withdrawn, the Forest Service reissued a nearly identical decision in October 2022, taking into account Rockin Four Ranch’s objections.

Located in the Globe Ranger District, eight miles north and northwest of Globe, the allotment encompasses a total area of 66,838 acres spread out over 21 pastures.

The Tonto National Forest Land Management Plan identifies the Hicks-Pikes Peak Allotment as suitable for domestic livestock.

Livestock grazing has occurred over the last 100 years on the Hicks-Pike Peak allotment. In 1982 H&E Ranch became the range permittee but removed all its livestock in 2006 because of drought conditions. Rockin Four Ranch bought the base property that same year and received a permit for grazing to begin almost immediately.

Livestock numbers have slowly increased since the Rockin Four Ranch took over the allotment and varied through the years. Cattle numbers there have generally ranged from 290 to 670. The new decision would allow for the introduction of up to 900 adult cattle and 1,100 weaned calves.

The Forest Service says this range falls within conservative estimates based on average and estimated forage production.

Public lands: Damage to riparian areas where cattle graze renews debate in Arizona

Grazing damages riparian areas, groups argue

The Center for Biological Diversity believes otherwise.

“There is no reason to permit cow grazing in riparian areas anywhere on public lands in the arid West,” said Robin Silver of the center. “No science supports it. Its past and ongoing devastation speaks for itself.”

Silver argues that grazing has already led to the loss of riparian systems in danger from extensive drought, the effects of climate change and pressure from cattle grazing.

Livestock grazing has damaged approximately 80% of stream and riparian ecosystems in the western United States, according to a study led by the High Sierra Hikers Association. Although these areas comprise only 0.5-1.0% of the overall landscape, a disproportionately large percentage of all desert, shrub and grassland plants and animals depend on them.

Livestock seeks out water, succulent forage and shade in riparian areas, leading to trampling and overgrazing of stream banks, soil erosion, loss of stream bank stability, declining water quality and drier conditions, researchers have found. Reduced habitat for riparian plant species, cold-water fish and wildlife has caused native species throughout the West to decline in number or go locally extinct.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed several lawsuits in recent years against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management for allowing privately-owned cattle ranchers to graze cattle on public land, most of which is in designated conservation areas. They plan to sue the Forest Service over the latest proposal.

The six new miles of fencing would allow for the potential increase of livestock within the Salt River Canyon Wilderness Area. Infrastructure would also include new pasture fences throughout the area, cattle guards, pipelines, troughs, corrals, windmills and storage tanks.

The funding source of the newly approved infrastructure projects has not been disclosed.

“It’s a big deal,” says Tuell, “Livestock are going to hammer the canyon if they get down in there.”

The new infrastructure will run through areas where riparian vegetation once grew, conservation groups say. Scrubs and grasslands operate as buffers from natural minerals and cow manure from entering the water.

The removal of these native plant species and the introduction of pastures located on or near riparian areas have already led to contaminated water.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality conducts reviews every two years on state rivers, lakes and waterways, and submits data into the EPA’s Water Quality Exchange.

According to ADEQ’s assessment dashboard, the Salt River, from Pinal Creek to Roosevelt Lake, just downstream of the allotment boundary, is considered "impaired" as of 2022.

“If water is not meeting the established water quality standards, then the water is impaired,” said Caroline Opplemen, ADEQ director of communications. “A section of the Salt River, just above Roosevelt Lake, which is where the project area is located, remains impaired for E. coli.”

The area has been impaired for more than a decade, though the impairment can be the product of one or more factors, not just cattle grazing, says ADEQ.

“Water quality degradation due to runoff is referred to as non-point source pollution, which can occur from water running over any surface, not just pastureland,” said Opplemen. “Potential impacts to water quality can include increased sediment, which may contain E. coli and naturally occurring minerals or pollutants.”

Healthy landscapes can slow floods

Without that natural riparian buffer, minerals and pollutants can flow unimpeded and pour into the Salt River.

After a 2015 ADEQ report, the Forest Service said the agency would cooperate on corrective actions needed to reduce E. coli to acceptable levels, but E. coli levels have been consistently found in the allotment since that report.

ADEQ says fencing to keep cattle out of waterways is an effective way to reduce the amount of E. coli that is introduced into the river, this is the extra six miles proposed to keep up with the additional cattle.

While fencing may keep cattle out of the water, it can be a catch 22. Fencing not only destroys the riparian vegetation buffer, but it also has increased the intensity and frequency of flooding in the past when added in riparian areas.

Protecting riparian areas: Conservation groups may sue feds for habitat loss from cattle grazing

Left undisturbed, these areas will act as ecological sponges, with the ability to absorb and store water which can reduce peak flows during spring snow melt or after high-intensity storms.

Healthy riparian ecosystems contribute to channel stability by increasing resistance, reducing flood peaks, trapping sediment and increasing groundwater recharge. Once vegetation is removed for modifications, a channel's resistance to erosion is lowered and can lead to an increase in flooding.

A March 2022 preliminary analysis on the Hicks-Pike Peak Allotment conducted by the U.S Forest Service found that over half the stream channels assessed in the project area were impaired or in unstable condition, in large part due to a lack of riparian vegetation.

Streams lose resistance due to the erosive forces of flood waters, even during smaller, slower floods. Large, fast-moving floods severely erode and degrade the channels, causing a heavy loss of riparian vegetation.

“If they put the fences on the Salt River, flooding is going to happen,” said Tuell.

In the past, when flooding has occurred, gaps in fencing aimed to keep cattle out of waterways appeared. The cows then go for a swim in the already E. coli-ridden water.

“So the cows are going to be roaming free in the Salt River as much as they want it’s going to be a disaster,” she said.

'It's a terrible idea'

Tuell believes the pastures along the river should be closed and the cows should be removed altogether.

Riparian vegetation also houses some of Arizona’s endangered and threatened species. It acts as protection and as a source of nutrients for these species. Conservationists fear the additional cattle and infrastructure put them at risk.

The Salt River Canyon Wilderness area is home to the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and razorback sucker, as well as the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo and habitat for the narrow-headed garter snake.

The flycatcher breeds in dense riparian vegetation near surface water. Any removal of vegetation could prevent the federally protected species from reproducing, which could imperil the longevity of the bird.

“There’re lots of riparian areas and that’s where all the threatened and endangered species habitat is going to be, and they seem very willing to authorize livestock grazing in an area where it shouldn’t be happening right along the Salt River, right in that wildlife area and habitat,” said Tuell. “It’s a terrible idea.”

Livestock trampling on stream banks can widen channels and vertically erode banks, lowering the water table and leading to shallower streams.

With less stream bank vegetation, soil is exposed to runoff and subsequent erosion. The excessive sediment load not only pollutes the water, but fills stream pools and covers rocky stream bottoms where fish typically feed.

These riparian changes eliminate food, shelter and spawning grounds for native cold-water species. With less stream bank vegetation, water is likely to warm faster as it is exposed to more direct sunlight. This was a contributing factor to the near-extinction of the Apache Trout on the western edge of the state.

The Forest Service maintains that Tonto National Forest conforms to all federal laws and regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act, in plans for grazing allotments on the forest, including the Hicks-Pikes Peak Allotment.

The agency’s Southwestern Regional Office will lead the objection review. The reviewing officer, Deputy Forest Supervisor Tom Torres, will respond in writing to all pending objections.

The Forest Service says the decision notice will not be signed until all concerns and instructions identified by the reviewing officer in the objection responses have been addressed. The Forest Service schedule of proposed actions said a decision is expected in November 2022 with expected implementation to follow.

Jake Frederico covers environment issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to jake.frederico@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Groups say Salt River grazing plan could imperil habitat, species