Conservation advocates say cows are again invading Valles Caldera

Nov. 23—Rogue cattle still are invading the Valles Caldera National Preserve, potentially damaging wildlife habitat and riparian areas, a year after federal agencies said they'd take the necessary steps to keep out the stray cows.

Three environmental groups last year threatened to sue the National Park Service under the Endangered Species Act for letting cows wander into the caldera and encroach on at least three protected species and their habitats, prompting the agency and the U.S. Forest Service to pursue corrective actions, such as fixing a broken fence.

The agencies' plans to tackle the problem persuaded the groups to forgo legal action. But a year later, the groups are criticizing what they say is a failed effort as cows continue to move through gaps in the fence on the preserve's northern side.

The cattle are leaving their permitted grazing areas, known as allotments, in Santa Fe National Forest areas bordering the preserve and have trespassed since 2017. There are limited areas within the preserve where cattle can graze, but almost all of it is protected and off-limits, the groups say.

"I can't with a straight face say species and habitat in Valles Caldera are protected, because there's cows out there almost every day during the grazing season," said Madeleine Carey, Southwest conservation manager for WildEarth Guardians, one of the groups that had threatened litigation last year.

Intruding cattle increase risks to the endangered Jemez Mountains salamander and New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, and possibly the threatened Mexican spotted owl, Carey said. Owl habitat has been identified in the area, but a lack of data on the owl itself makes the stray cattle's impacts on the bird less clear, she added.

Aside from trampling and feeding on grassy meadows that serve as habitat for sensitive species, the cattle also congregate in riparian areas, Carey said. They denude stream banks and cause them to collapse, knocking sediment into the water that can hurt fish, she said.

The cows also defecate into the Jemez River and at least one tributary that connects to it, carrying the waste and bacteria downstream to where people fish, camp and wade in the water, she said.

When asked whether WildEarth was again considering a lawsuit, Carey replied: "We're evaluating all our options."

She said she'd rather see the agencies solve the problem.

A National Park Service spokesman said there was no one available during the holiday week to answer questions about how the agency is dealing with the issue.

In an email, a Forest Service spokeswoman wrote her agency's responsibility in this matter includes working with the Park Service and the neighboring ranchers who have grazing permits to rebuild and manage the fencing.

"We take our stewardship work seriously and strive to cooperate with our partners on this project," Shaun Sanchez, the Santa Fe National Forest supervisor, said in the emailed statement.

The Forest Service recently finished doing surveys, repairs and maintenance on 90% of the northern boundary fence, including a 300-yard section where most of the cows trespass, agency spokeswoman Claudia Brookshire wrote.

The agency also is working with the Park Service and grazing permittees to repair and maintain fencing in other areas, and has assisted the preserve's managers in contacting permittees to remove trespassing cows, she wrote.

Carey said one improvement she has observed since last year is the Park Service promptly telling ranchers to remove their cattle from the caldera. However, those actions haven't reduced the number of rogue cattle in the preserve, she said.

Tom Ribe, a public lands advocate, agreed. He said there were more than 100 unauthorized cows in the caldera during the summer, roughly the same as the previous grazing season.

Both federal agencies have funded fence repairs, but gaps remain and someone appears to be cutting the fence in spots as well, Ribe said.

The reason the invading cows' numbers don't diminish, despite the Park Service ordering their removal, is the agency won't penalize the ranchers, so there's nothing to deter them from turning the cows loose again and again in the preserve to feed on the thicker grass, Ribe said.

"It needs to be costly for the ranchers to do this, because the public doesn't want those cows in there," Ribe said. "The Park Service has the authority to fine these guys," he said, but so far has balked.

Ranchers are letting their cattle unlawfully graze in the caldera's lush meadows because their allotments often have thin grass, Ribe said.

These tracts have been over-grazed and the grass hasn't been allowed to regrow, he said. The Forest Service should leave some of the lots unoccupied to revitalize them, he said, adding it would make ranchers more inclined to keep their cows grazing there.

The Forest Service disagreed with Ribe's assessment.

The agency adaptively manages rangeland, basing the number of cows per allotment on weather and the amount of grass, Brookshire wrote.

"The USFS has an established system of range regulations," she wrote. "This includes permits, limits on herd size, grazing seasons, allotments, and rental fees."

Ribe argued that whatever the two agencies are doing apparently isn't enough, given the persistent problem of cows trespassing.

Oversight has evolved over the decades on the 90,000 acres of woodlands and meadows created when an ancient volcano erupted.

For more than 100 years, the caldera was part of a working cattle ranch. The federal government bought the property, known as the Baca Ranch, in 2000 in a $101 million deal.

Officials wrangled for years over how to manage the property — whether to focus on recreation or preservation, or whether to continue grazing cattle at the historic ranch.

Eventually the preserve gained additional protections that barred cattle grazing in most areas, and its jurisdiction was handed over to the National Park Service in 2015.

Ribe said in recent meetings he attended the Park Service and Forest Service haggled over which agency should take the lead in enforcement when it comes to intruding cattle. That unresolved debate seems to be a big reason why neither agency is cracking down, he said.

Carey said wrangling between the agencies over which is most responsible for the cows is "incredibly frustrating," but it's not something her group wants to be involved in.

"I'm interested in talking about how we can protect species and habitat and water quality," Carey said.