USFS delays road closure for cattle removal

The USFS is negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Arizona to arrange for a brand inspector to be present when the cattle are removed from the allotments and impounded. A brand inspector will verify ownership.

The U.S. Forest Service has put on hold its plans to close two ForestService roads while it removes cattle it says are illegally grazing on twoallotments in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Clifton.

Forest Supervisor spokesperson Deborah Bumpus said Forest Service roads212 and 215 will remain open for the meantime. The USFS is negotiating aMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Arizona to arrange fora brand inspector to be present when the cattle are removed from theallotments and impounded. A brand inspector will check brands on each headof cattle to verify ownership.

Bumpus said a meeting is scheduled next week with Forest Service and stateofficials to work out details of the MOU. It follows a teleconference heldlast week. She did not give a new date for closing the roads.

In early August, Forest Supervisor Elaine Zieroth announced plans to closeForest Road 212 and part of 215 northeast of Clifton to round-up andimpound cattle from the Martinez Ranch that are grazing on the PleasantValley and Hickey allotments on Forest Service land.

The Martinez family, which owns the cattle, does not have grazing permitsfor either allotment. Zieroth said the Martinez's permit for the PleasantValley allotment expired in 2004 and the family has not held a permit forthe Hickey grazing.

Dan Martinez, who with his brothers bought the ranch from their father,Abelardo Martinez Sr., is adamant the Forest Service is out of line inimpounding his family's cattle. He said removal of the cattle willconstitute a criminal act by the Forest Service.

On July 25, the Forest Service sent the Martinezes notices of intent toimpound unauthorized livestock. Martinez faxed a copy of the impound noticeto The Copper Era. "Refused for Fraud!" was scrawled in large letters onthe notice.

Martinez said the Forest Service needs a court order to legally impound hiscattle. Zieroth said a court order was not necessary and the action isbeing taken through a legal administrative process. She also said theForest Service has gone to great lengths to work with the Martinezes, andall approaches to resolve the issue have been exhausted.

The Martinez grazing issue has been going on for nearly three years,according to Clifton District Ranger Frank Hayes, who initiated discussionwith the Martinezes. Dan Martinez said the Forest Service was trying toforce his father to waive certain rights in transferring a grazing permitto his sons, and his father refuses to. Hayes said the Forest Service wasonly requiring Abelardo Martinez Sr. to waive his Pleasant Valley permit tothe Forest Service, which would have turned around and issued the permit toDan Martinez and his brothers. Hayes said the waiver is normal procedurewhen transferring grazing permits from one permittee to another.

Martinez earlier said he will not resist removal of the cattle but willtake action afterwards. "I intend to prosecute criminals," he said."There's not even a court order. We haven't seen any legal documents."

Martinez also sent a letter to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano asking her tosend the state militia to stop the cattle impoundment. A week later, hesaid he had not received a response from the governor.

Road closure

The Forest Service also said in early August that when Forest Road 215 isclosed, it may be closed for as long as six weeks.

Forest Service spokesman Bob Dyson said the road will be closed as a safetymeasure.

The closure will limit travel on Forest Road 215 as it enters the forestboundary, about five miles north of Loma Linda, and extends about one milepast the Rattlesnake cabin on the Hickey allotment.

A map and copy of the closing order will be posted at the forest boundaryand at other appropriate areas in the forest.

Access on Forest Road 212 to the San Francisco River will not be affectedby the temporary area closure, and most of Forest Road 215 that extendssouth from Road 212 will remain open.

Dyson said the impoundment requires gathering, holding and handling thecattle for inspection, disease testing and transportation.

Livestock gathering and handling, to be done by a certified contractor,will require the use of holding corrals and several small pastures in theRattlesnake Canyon area north of Loma Linda.

USFS criticized

The Forest Service is caught in a squeeze between two conflicting points ofview as it prepares to close the road while it removes the Martinez cattle.

Besides being criticized by Martinez, the USFS has also been sharplycriticized by the WildEarth Guardians, an environmental group based in SantaFe, and the Arizona Wildlife Federation, for not acting sooner to removethe livestock.

The WildEarth Guardians and other environmental groups, which have been highlycritical of the Forest Service, filed a 60-day notice in May to pressurethe agency to remove the cattle from the Pleasant Valley and Hickeyallotments.

The Guardians' primary concern involved the Endangered Species Act (ESA)and four endangered species, the spikedace and loach minnows, theChiricahua frog and Mexican spotted owl, which have habitats on bothallotments.

The notice said the Forest Service "has failed in its responsibility touphold the very intent of the ESA." The environmental groups threatened tofile civil action for violations of the ESA.

Guardians Grazing Program Coordinator Billy Stern told The Copper Era in atelephone interview his group is pleased the Forest Service is finallymoving on the cattle impoundment.

"Despite the delays, we are very happy to see the Forest Service takingaction to remove unauthorized livestock to protect valuable resources,"Stern said. "The Martinezes have been grazing for free and basically actinglike a truant tenant over the last two years."

Stern said "it's pretty cut and dried" that the Forest Service has theauthority to remove the cattle.

Stern said Forest Service records show the Martinezes not only failed topay grazing fees, but also failed to maintain fences and failed to fix abroken section of fence that allowed their cattle to trespass on to theHickey allotment. "Salt blocks were also placed on the Hickey allotment toencourage cattle to further trespass on to that allotment."

He said the Martinezes "allowed their cattle to graze in pastures that wereclosed to cattle grazing in order to protect streams and stock ponds thatprovide critical habitat" for endangered species.

Mary Jo Miller, president of the Arizona Wildlife Federation, weighed in onthe planned impoundment. "It's a no-brainer," she said. "All of the ForestService's constituents, including neighboring ranchers, should be offendedby this kind of trespass, and it is fantastic that they (Forest Service)are taking action to stop it."

Dan Martinez said he has proof environmentalists and Forest Serviceofficials have acted in collusion against the Martinezes. "I got proof ofcollusion," Martinez said. "That's a criminal act. They (Guardians) are inbed with the Forest Service."

The Forest Service and the WildEarth Guardians dismissed the allegation asunfounded.

Reprinted from Eastern Arizona Courier


 

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