Forest Service Finds
Elk Threat To Streams

SILVER CITY, N.M. — Burgeoning elk herds in the Gila National Forest might rival livestock when it comes to grazing in environmentally sensitive areas, the U.S. Forest Service says.

Grazing by elk might help ruin streamside habitats, the agency said in one of its environmental assessments for 18 grazing allotments in the Gila.

"I'm pleased to hear the Forest Service is acknowledging that fact," says Caren Cowan, executive secretary of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.

Elk herds might exert grazing pressure on sensitive environments even in the absence of cattle, says the assessments, which were completed last month.

A Santa Fe-based environmental activist group, Forest Guardians, accuses the Forest Service of blaming a native species for problems tied to livestock.

"Elk do not behave like cows," contends John Horning, public lands spokesman for the group. "Cows congregate along streamsides and beat the hell out of them."

But the elk are damaging streamsides and are a big problem for ranchers, Cowan says.

"Elk are causing a tremendous amount of resource damage in addition to eating the forage that livestock producers have paid for in their grazing allotments," she says. "You're talking about grazing animals who weigh about the same amount (as cattle), who are cloven-hooved and who are going to create the same amount of damage."

The Forest Service says elk management is a major issue in the Gila, and the most effective measure for controlling the animals is hunting.

Elk numbers in the Gila are not known, but the animals have increased steadily since the 1970s and are becoming an increasing problem for ranchers in New Mexico and Colorado.

The number of elk in a single hunt unit in the Reserve and Quemado Ranger districts has been estimated to be as high as 5000.

If the trend continues unchecked, studies estimate the number of elk in the unit will be nearly 14,000 in 10 years.

The number of elk in the Quemado district stood at 2800 in 1997 compared with 4711 head of cattle.

Elk are assumed to eat the same amount of forage as a yearling cow, the Forest Service says.

The Forest Service is working with the state Department of Game and Fish to develop hunt strategies to control the number of elk, the assessment says.

The assessments are intended to play a significant role in decisions made by district rangers on grazing permits.