Thursday, December 07, 2023

Conservation advocates say cows are again invading Valles Caldera

 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...more



Can't help but notice the language used.
Supposidly a straight forward news item, but notice ---these aren't cattle, or wild scattle, or estrays. No sir, these are "rogue" cattle.
And they are not tresspassing, they are "invading" federal property.
Areas where cattle may not graze are referred to as "protected"
Sounds like they are gearing up for war.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those liberally perfumed few who complain about a few cows probably don't know that the King Bros. put thousands of steer in the valle during the summer. That didn't seem to hurt the area one bit. My guess is that any damage to the valled will come from the thousands of elk which use the place nearly year round. And then there are the perfumed few bathing in the creek, leaving their trash and driving illegally across the valle because they can't walk that far. The biggest mistake was in not giving that whole area to the native tribes who claim past usage.

Anonymous said...

Some good points here.