Wolves, coyotes, banning livestock
Wolves
Well, I guess we knew it was bound to
happen.
A Mexican wolf has crossed north of
Interstate 40. In other words it is now beyond the experimental population area
in New Mexico. According to the NM Game and Fish, the female wolf traveled “farther north and east than
any wolf of its kind since it was reintroduced in 1998.”
New Mexico Game and Fish has reportedly
warned livestock producer that the wolf is protected under federal law and
cannot be hazed or harassed. The endangered species act states:
“In
carrying out the program authorized by this Act, the Secretary shall cooperate
to the maximum extent practicable with the States. Such cooperation shall
include consultation with the States concerned before acquiring any land or
water, or interest therein, for the purpose of conserving any endangered
species or threatened species.”
And under
the prohibited acts section of the endangered species act, it states:
“ remove and reduce to
possession any such species from areas under Federal jurisdiction; maliciously
damage or destroy any such species on any such area; or remove, cut, dig up, or
damage or destroy any such species on any other area in knowing violation of
any law or regulation of any State or in the course of any violation of a State
criminal trespass law;
(C) deliver, receive, carry,
transport, or ship in interstate or foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever and
in the course of a commercial activity, any such species.”
So be aware the state is very
involved with this issue.
Coyotes
A coalition of environmental groups has
filed a petition with the Secretary of Interior to protect coyotes saying “that small statured Mexican gray
wolves are often mistaken for coyotes and that protecting coyotes would in turn
cut down on wolf deaths.” They want the Secretary of Interior to list the
coyote as an endangered species anywhere the wolf might roam, claiming the illegal
killings are the number one cause of death for the Mexican wolf, and that a
good portion of those are claimed to be by mistaken identity. A spokesman for
the Center for Biological Diversity said, “It’s an outrage that merely saying
‘I thought it was a coyote’ serves as a get-out-of-jail-free card for anyone
who shoots one of these highly imperiled animals ‘
They
are right about one thing – this is an outrage.
Climate change
Last
December I wrote:
What will come of all this climate change push. especially for ranchers and rural property owners?
It seems clear the enviros will uselimate change as the lever to lobby for all the items on their agenda…
and
--climate change will take a much more prominent place in all planning documents and decisions, including those on livestock grazing
Now take a look at what is happening in the European
Union.
The ruling ordered the Dutch
government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020, which meant
the country would almost have to double the amount previously obtained.
The Dutch government finally
produced a plan to "radically" reduce livestock numbers by more than
35 million by 2030.
According to an article by
Baylen Linnekin, the plan includes "paying some Dutch livestock farmers to
relocate or exit the industry, and helping others transition to more extensive
(as opposed to intensive) methods of farming, with fewer animals and a bigger
area of land."
And to top things off, they
will be training future lawyers on the best way to sue you.
There is a national movement
to mandate courses on climate change be a part of every law school’s
curriculum. Two law professors recently wrote in a paper published by Cambridge
University Press:
Law students graduating in the coming decades will conduct their entire future practices in a web of climate law.
Climate change is still perceived as a niche topic – studied by those interested in ‘green’ issues and neglected by everyone else – rather than the socially pervasive issue that it is. Regrettably, this means that students are leaving Law School without a proper understanding of the legal framework or social context within which they will practise… Accordingly, this paper argues that climate change education should be compulsory and assessable content across the core law curriculum.
Note the “compulsory” in
their paper.
Taxpayer dollars will be
used to better train these attorneys who will sue you and other producers.
And New Mexico, no longer The Land Enchantment, will be the Land of Canis Lupus Baileyi. No longer seen as a place where the buffalo used to roam, but instead as a place where the wolves do roam.
Sorry
about the negativity in all this. I could not figure out a better way to present
it.
Until next
time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget that cinch.
Frank DuBois was
the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The
Westerner (www.thewesterner.blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo
Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation
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