Cattle trespass reportedly continues to be a problem at Valles Caldera National Preserve

Cattle trespassing in Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico continue to be an ongoing problem for the National Park Service, which could be sued over the matter if constructive measures aren't taken to solve the problem.

“I’m frustrated,” said Madeleine Carey, Southwest conservation manager for WildEarth Guardians. “What started out as promising negotiations earlier this year seem to have stalled. By allowing the continued destruction of headwater streams, the agencies have lost sight of the issue at hand and are failing in their public duty to protect fragile natural resources. Due to their inability to coordinate and cooperate, trespass livestock continue to damage waters that should be protected because they are on Park Service land.”  

The cattle enter the preserve through downed fences to reach its grasslands. They have damaged wetlands and created erosion problems in areas where the Park Service has spent a lot of money on restoration work, according to Caldera Action, an advocacy group. What's been viewed as a lack of action by the Park Service led Caldera Action, the Western Watersheds Project, and Wildlife Guardians to threaten to sue the agency last year.

Data obtained from regular monitoring in Valles Caldera National Preserve "reveal federal land managers have failed to stop persistent trespass grazing on sensitive wildlife habitat in northern New Mexico," according to a release from New Mexico Wild, another advocacy group.

Preserve Superintendent Jorge Siva-Bañuelos has acknowledged the problem, telling the Traveler a year ago that the Park Service "has allocated about $350,000 to replace sections of the boundary fence between the Santa Fe National Forest and Valles Caldera National Preserve."

"So far, this has translated into six miles of wildlife-friendly fence being replaced by partners such as the Pueblo of Santa Clara, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and Rio Grande Return," the superintendent said. "However, given the rugged forested terrain along the 51-mile park boundary and the fact that a wire fence can be easily defeated by a $5 pair of wire cutters or a falling tree, the current approach does at times feel like a Sisyphean task. Instead, the park is pursuing funding to install a virtual fence system that would cost substantially less and may result in a more effective method of excluding trespass cattle from the landscape. Either way, the NPS will continue to collaborate with the USDA Forest Service to mitigate this issue that has been a long-standing challenge well before the NPS took over management of the park unit. 

But the watchdog groups maintain the "land managers have failed to coordinate on fence building and have not taken action to hold the ranchers accountable for the damage caused by the trespass livestock."

The groups submitted more than a dozen reports to federal land managers, documenting nearly 1,000 trespass cows, according to New Mexico Wild.

"These reports included photos, brand and ear tag information, and location information. The Park Service independently documented trespass livestock and has been documenting impacts to natural resources within the Preserve," the group said in mid-November. "According to the Park Service, each cow spent an average of five days on the Preserve, amounting to 1,855 cow days (371 cattle) on the Preserve between April and October of this year. The cattle tend to congregate in riparian areas and wet meadows where they trample vegetation, cause stream bank collapse, and pollute otherwise pristine waters." 

“Trespass (unauthorized, illegal) cattle have been accessing Valles Caldera National Preserve from grazing allotments on the Santa Fe National Forest for years. It is deeply disappointing that the Forest Service and National Park Service have been unable to work together to develop a collaborative solution to this problem, despite the agencies agreeing that these cattle do not belong in the National Preserve,” said Bjorn Fredrickson, conservation director at New Mexico Wild. “It is widely understood that unmanaged grazing can result in profound ecological impacts, particularly in riparian areas. So, while resolution of this issue remains elusive to the two agencies, the trespass cattle continue to despoil headwater streams, water quality, and other sensitive resources in Valles Caldera.” 

Staff at Valles Caldera has not responded to an email from the Traveler seeking an update on the problem.