USFS will end temporary closure of Diamond Bar (And Kills Two Cows)

The Forest Service has announced it will end its temporary closure of the Diamond Bar allotment in the Gila National Forest at 8 a.m. Thursday.

The area was closed to the public while personnel hired by the agency impounded cattle being grazed illegally on the allotment.

"We now have 415 livestock gathered, and anticipate we may very well be finished with the removal (and) impoundment within the next couple of weeks," Wilderness District Ranger Annette Chavez said in a news release.

"A few stragglers may remain in canyons, ridges and the outer reaches of the allotment," she added. "These will be gathered and impounded by Forest Service personnel."

The Forest Service's Me Own fire base and Beaverhead facility, where impounded cattle and horses are being held, will continue to be closed to the public for an indefinite period.

"Visitors traveling along Forest Road 150, between Beaverhead and the Mimbres Valley, are cautioned to drive defensively, as ... horse trailers, water trucks and feed trucks may be encountered along the road," the release stated. "Livestock may also be encountered crossing or trailing along the road."

The termination order allows public entry to the forest along Forest Road 150 below private land at Wall Lake, south to the south rim of Rocky Canyon, and all the area within the 147,000-acre allotment.

Forest trails in the area will be reopened Thursday morning, as well.

The Forest Service also reported today that, during the roundup, two cows died. About two weeks ago, a heifer suffered a broken leg while penned at Me Own Mesa and "was disposed of humanely," the release said.

Another cow died last weekend while being taken from portable corrals west of Forest Road 225 to corrals in Beaverhead.

"Although we had hoped there would be no losses of livestock, we also knew that livestock operations unfortunately sometimes include a few losses," Chavez said. "I have been in communcations with my district staff and emphasized that the removal (and) impoundment continue to be conducted in the most humane manner possible."