Pull cattle off mesa, ranchers ordered

Forest Service's edict because of drought brings N.M. backlash

Associated Press

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

TAOS, N.M. - Carson National Forest wants some ranchers to remove their cattle from forest land by the end of the month because of drought, and the ranchers are fighting the decision.

Jarita Mesa cannot support the nearly 500 head of cattle grazing on the mesa this summer along with wild horses and wildlife, forest officials say.

Ranchers who hold 18 permits for the allotment have asked Rio Arriba County officials to intervene.

Last week, the Rio Arriba County Commission adopted a resolution supporting the critical role of agriculture in the county's economy and culture.

The U.S. Forest Service's actions threaten to "negatively and irreversibly impact the lives, the economy, the culture and reshape the natural and human environments of Rio Arriba County," the commission's resolution says.

Commissioner Felipe Martinez, of El Rito, said the panel might draft another resolution requesting that Sheriff Joe Mascarenas "take action to protect private-property rights of these folks."

Mascarenas said he would do what he could for the ranchers as long as it's "within the law."

Ranchers also have requested a stay of the district's decision pending the results of an appeal.

If the decision is upheld and a permit holder refuses to move his or her cattle, the grazing permit could be suspended or canceled, said El Rito District Ranger Diana Trujillo.

The Forest Service began meeting with ranchers in January about drought conditions. Jarita Mesa permit holders have agreed to a 4 percent reduction in the number of cattle they put on the allotment, Trujillo said.

They also agreed to a shorter grazing season that would run from May 15 through Sept. 15, ending a month and a half early.

However, the guidelines for the year also said that if drought conditions continued and forage was reduced to specified levels, earlier removal might be required.

"Grazing standards have been exceeded," Trujillo said.

Ranchers and their supporters blame more than the drought for the shortage of forage.

They say the Forest Service hasn't done an adequate job of managing Jarita Mesa's elk and wild-horse populations.

According to the Forest Service, as many as 150 of the horses roam the 54,000-acre Jarita Mesa Wild Horse Territory northeast of El Rito.

Ranchers say that's too many.