Forest Service takes grazing permit from rancher who killed wolf on his allotment

The U.S. Forest Service has revoked the grazing permit of New Mexico rancher Craig Thiessen. Thiessen plead guilty in May to intentionally trapping and bludgeoning an endangered Mexican wolf with a shovel on public lands in 2015. Grazing regulations authorize the agency to revoke the permit of any permittee who is convicted of failing to comply with federal laws relating to the protection of wildlife, including, in this case, the Endangered Species Act. The Datil rancher held the permit for an allotment near Reserve on the Gila National Forest. In a letter to congressional representatives, U.S. Forest Service regional director Marie Therese Sebrechts said, “We will offer other ranchers the grazing opportunity on the allotment once the administrative process is completed.”...MORE