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By David Bowser MESILLA PARK, N.M. — Joe Delk of the New Mexico Livestock Board says the Forest Service personnel involved in the impoundment of Kit Laney's cattle, including the Forest Service's contractor, are not sufficiently capable of handling and caring for the animals in a manner that prevents injury or death. In accordance with a court order, cattle from a grazing allotment Laney has been using are being removed and impounded by the U.S. Forest Service. Delk, G.B. Oliver and Catron County Sheriff Cliff Snyder inspected Laney's cattle impounded at the Beaverhead Ranger Station on March 17. Some 250 of Laney's cattle are impounded at the ranger station. More are expected to be brought in as cowboys hired by the Forest Service round up Laney's cattle on the Diamond Bar grazing allotment of the Gila National Forest. Officials say they expect to gather 300 to 400 bulls, dry cows, cow-calf pairs, yearlings and calves. Steve Libby, range management officer for the Gila National Forest, says the Forest Service is feeding the cattle 2.5 tons of hay per day, divided into two feedings. The cattle are being held in two barbed-wire enclosures, each of which is about 100 feet wide and 300 feet long. Delk said he suggested to Libby that the Forest Service reinforce the fencing. Delk also said the enclosures, in his opinion, are fine for a short period of time. He added, however, that if the Forest Service plans to keep the cattle for more than three to five days they will need more space, particularly if more cattle are brought in. Delk noted that all the cattle are mixed together, an unsatisfactory situation given variations in their health. "I estimate that 10 percent of the mature cattle were in body condition score two, 15 percent BCS four and five, and the rest were BCS threes," Delk said in a report to Daniel Manzanares, executive director of the New Mexico Livestock Board. "I did not consider this to be unusual, considering the time of year and current range conditions." Delk recommended, however, that several cows, which appeared to be BCS two, should be sorted off and given special care. If they aren't, he warned, they will likely die. "I think they are weaker than they look and are getting weaker by the day," Delk said. "The others in the four and five brackets included most of the bulls and most of the dry cows. They, too, should be sorted off to be fed and cared for at a different level. The cows with calves and all the others in the middle or BCS three group would benefit from the reduced competition from the dry cows and bulls." Water is of particular concern, Delk said. The water in the troughs is not accessible to the smaller calves, weighing 300 pounds or less. "The water level was too low for smaller calves to stand at the trough and reach over the edge to get a drink," Delk said. He also criticized the hay being used. "The quality of hay being fed to the Laney cattle is poor to fair at best," Delk wrote. "Generally, cows can consume low-quality roughage and do okay, especially in open range conditions, but in confined conditions that is certainly not the case." The hay is being consumed by cattle that are hungry, but because of the low nutritive value, Delk said he would estimate that less than 35 percent of the hay being consumed is being digested. "The Forest Service may be saving money by feeding cheap hay, but the condition of the cattle will most certainly deteriorate as each day passes," Delk predicted. He suggested the Forest Service use better quality hay to help insure the cattle are strong enough to endure the ordeal they are experiencing. Delk said the cattle are under a great deal of stress. "These cattle may appear, to the inexperienced eye, to be content and relaxed," Delk said. "However, I could see stress in most. The cattle had been gathered, penned, sorted, loaded onto crowded trailers and hauled over rough roads to a strange place with strange people and strange activity all around. The cows with calves exhibited the most outward concern because they fear for the safety of their babies." Ranchers recognize that the stress factor can cause a herd of cattle to decline in health and condition with amazing speed, Delk added. Delk's biggest concern was nursing cows brought in without their calves. "This is absolutely inexcusable!" he wrote. "I saw at least two cows with full udders searching for their calves. I saw one little newborn nursing his mother at one point and, later, one of the cows brought in without her baby. It is not normal for a cow to stand while another calf nurses her, but when she has lost her baby, it's not unusual." It is too late for the two baby calves left out in the forest, Delk said, but he warned Libby that as the roundup goes forward and more cattle are impounded, all wet cows should be paired before being hauled to Beaverhead. "If not, they should be released immediately to go to their calf," Delk said. "Then, once they are brought to Beaverhead, any wet cow that is bawling should be watched and if she has no calf, she should be returned to where she was gathered to allow her to find her baby." Delk said he saw a lot of skinned cattle, too. "I realize that any time cattle are gathered, penned, sorted, loaded on trailers and hauled for any distance, some will invariably get skinned up in the process," he said. But he saw what he judged to be too many injuries to too many cattle. "I didn't count them," he said, "but it was plain to me that there were a lot of cattle in these enclosures that had been handled roughly. Whether it occurred in the penning, sorting, loading or hauling, I'm not sure, but this is not acceptable and borders on cruelty." Delk also asked the Forest Service to make sure that their contractors not overload trailers. The cattle trucks should also stop frequently, he advised, and be checked for cattle that are down. "Generally, I found the cattle to be in acceptable condition considering their circumstance," Delk said in his report. "However, it is my opinion and concern that the cattle are being gathered, penned, sorted, loaded and hauled in a manner that is not consistent with the normally accepted beef quality assurance practices and procedures of most ranchers in New Mexico. Furthermore, it is my opinion that if the recommended changes aren't made in the quality of feed, sorting of cattle, availability of water and the size and number of pens, the condition of the cattle will steadily deteriorate." Laney claims title to the land; however, the courts have ruled against him. Last December U.S. District Judge William Johnson ruled Laney never had a vested property right, as he claims, to graze cattle on the Diamond Bar allotment, which includes areas of both the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness areas, or on another allotment near Arizona. Kit and Sherry Laney claim they have grazing and water rights in the Gila National Forest based on historical use that predates the national forest's creation. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that same argument in 1999 in an earlier stage of this long-running fight. The Laneys' cattle were removed from the Gila in that earlier battle after their grazing permit expired in January 1996. The Laneys refused the offer of a new, curtailed grazing permit in part because they said it would not allow them to run a viable ranching operation. The Laneys, who own private land in the middle of a 146,000-acre allotment that straddles the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness areas, moved cattle back onto the allotment last spring without a permit. In December, Johnson ruled the Laneys were in contempt of 1996 and 1997 court rulings requiring them to remove their cattle from the Diamond Bar allotment. "Impounding a private individual's livestock is the last thing we want to do. We tried to be very considerate of the Laneys," Libby said. "We provided every opportunity for them to pursue their claim in court. They are in contempt of court. We have no choice but to do what we are doing now, but it is nothing we want to do." The Forest Service has had trouble finding cowboys to remove the cattle. While they report that they now have four men working on horseback, gathering cattle on the Diamond Bar allotment, the Forest Service also has 16 law enforcement officers providing security for the roundup. |
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