1/3/20 Along the Valles Caldera National Preserve’s northern boundary lies an old fence put in by the private owners of the Baca Ranch. The fence divides the VCNP from the US Forest Service land to the north. That land has grazing allotments used by various ranchers in the Abiquiu and Coyote area. The fence has been a constant source of problems for both the VCNP Trust before 2015 and the National Park Service today.
The many miles of fence divide land that is heavily grazed, and probably overgrazed, on the US Forest Service side and the grasslands of the VCNP. The fence has elk knocking it down, trees falling across it, and ranchers who have been observed cutting it to allow their cattle into the VCNP for free forage.
Last summer and for many summers before, cattle trespassed on the VCNP from the other side of the north fence. Last summer (2018) more than 150 cattle were grazing in areas officially closed to grazing on the preserve because of holes in the north fence. The NPS rounded up these cattle and with the help of the State Brand Inspector called the owners to come and get them from corrals in the preserve. The ranchers protested that their cattle were being abused after eating free forage in the preserve for most of the summer.
Caldera Action issued a Freedom of Information Act request to the US Forest Service to find out what if any responsibility that agency has in maintaining the north fence. It turns out that ranchers who have allotments on the national forest often have legal responsibility for maintaining various fences within the USFS lands and following our FOIA it appears that talks began between the VCNP managers and the USFS managers to agree to a way to stop the cattle trespass.
The National Park Service agreed to rebuild the fence this summer (2019) with the help of a Youth Conservation Corps crew and the USFS agreed to require various allotment holders to maintain that fence. This is a big step because the ranchers have a responsibility now that bears on their ability to continue to graze national forest lands.
Caldera Action will watch closely to make sure that cattle trespass has indeed stopped permanently at the Preserve. The NPS has a limited grazing program at the VCNP which is expensive relative to other public land grazing programs and is open only to those who bid successfully. This has been Jemez Pueblo in recent years.
While we can’t necessarily take credit for the progress on cattle trespass, pressure from Caldera Action may have been key to moving this issue forward. This is the sort of watch-dog work that is critical to helping the National Park Service and helping protect the land from illegal and damaging grazing.
You can help by reporting any cattle you see on the VCNP to us. Please send an e mail to calderaaction@gmail.com. Thank you.
The Saga of the North Fence
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