Renegade Rancher Calls for State Militia to Stop Impoundment

Forest Service files Notice of Impoundment intending to round-up his unauthorized cattle

Santa Fe, NM - Months after Abelardo "Abe" Martinez Sr. and his son Dan Martinez failed to sign the new grazing permit offered by the Forest Service, Dan Martinez is crying foul and calling on the governor to "send out the militia" now that the Forest Service has given them notice that they plan to impound the Martinez' unauthorized cattle.

Local Arizona papers, the Copper Era and the Eastern Arizona Courier, report that Dan Martinez said that the "Forest Service is trying to 'take advantage of these small ranchers.'" In fact, neither Abe nor Dan now live on the ranch. The father, Abe Sr. was born in 1917, is apparently retired and now lives about 40 miles away in Safford, and Dan, who lives out of state in Santa Fe, New Mexico, owns more than half a dozen properties and is rumored to make his living from a number of McDonald's franchise.

"Neither of the Martinez appear to need the income from the ranch, assuming it even makes a profit. This is a case of a rancher who don't recognize public property, doesn't recognize government authority, and insists they own the National Forest," aid Billy Stern, Grazing Reform Program Coordinator for WildEarth Guardians. "The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that grazing is a privilege and not a right. The Martinez have abused that privilege and now they are paying for their renegade philosophy."

Abelardo "Abe" Martinez Sr. had held the permit on the Pleasant Valley Allotment for decades, but that permit was cancelled last year after various violations occurred, including trespassing onto a neighboring grazing allotment, and refusing to sign a new permit.

Since that time, Martinez cattle have continued to graze illegally on the Pleasant Valley and Hickey Grazing allotment, damaging the land and feeding for free at public expense. The allotments are in the Greenlee County, northeast of the town of Clifton, just south of the San Francisco River. These allotments included habitat for the Chiricahua leopard frog, loach minnow, and spikedace, all listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"No landlord should wait two years before evicting a tenant who failed to sign their lease, pay their rent and was vandalizing their property, said Stern, "Still, it is great to see the Forest Service finally taking steps to impound the cattle and prevent renegade ranchers from causing further damage."

WildEarth Guardians, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, the Arizona Wildlife Federation and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility have been urging the Forest Service to take action to remove the Martinez cattle since last fall, first with a letter requesting immediate action, followed by a 60-day notice of intent to sue, send on May 4, 2005, after the agency failed to act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was also noticed in the letter as they were informed about the trespass cattle and resulting damage to the threatened species, but have also failed to take any action against the owners of the livestock.

On August 31, 2004, Frank Hayes, the Clifton District Ranger of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, cancelled Martinez's grazing permit and ordered him to remove his cattle from National Forest lands within thirty days. Hayes writes, "It is essential that your livestock be removed from National Forest System Land as soon as possible in order to limit resource damage to threatened and endangered species habitat."

"When I visited the area the impacts from grazing to Chiricahua leopard frog habitat where clear," said Stern. (See the photos above.) "The parts of ponds fenced from cattle grazing had emergent - or water-rooted vegetation - that the frogs need to lay their eggs. The unfenced areas where the cows had access had almost no vegetation. You hear people saying that the Endangered Species Act isn't working, that species aren't recovering, but there is nothing wrong with the law itself. It simply isn't being enforced by the Bush administration.

Forest Service records show that among other violations, Abelardo Martinez failed to pay his grazing fees, failed to maintain fences, and failed to fix a broken section of fence that allowed his cattle to trespass onto a neighboring Hickey allotment. Salt blocks were also placed on the Hickey allotment to encourage cattle to further trespass onto that allotment. In addition, Martinez and his son Dan also allowed their cattle to graze in pastures that were closed to cattle grazing in order to protect streams and stock ponds that provide habitat for the Chiricahua leopard frog, spikedace and loach minnow, species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

WildEarth Guardians represent more than 1500 residents of the Southwest who believe public lands should be managed primarily for the protection of fish and wildlife.

For the Forest Service Press release and statements, call 928-333-4301.


 

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