After years of legal challenges from environmental groups, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is removing feral cattle from areas along the Verde River in the Tonto, Coconino and Prescott national forests.
Unauthorized grazing has affected riparian zones in the Verde River’s wild and scenic areas, according to the groups, causing the groups to file several suits. “I wish I could say that roundups of illegal, unauthorized cattle grazing did happen more often, but they don’t, and if they did happen more often then we wouldn’t have been filing these lawsuits across Arizona and New Mexico for the past year,” said Joe Trudeau, southwest advocate for the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity.
Dakota Harris, who assists USFS with the roundup, stated it had been quite some time since a roundup of this magnitude has been completed by the government. “Before this, it’s been on the private level for individuals or corporations that own ranches themselves.” Harris, owner of Rocking Double Spear Ranch, is using a combination of helicopter and horseback to conduct the roundup and has captured 80 head of cattle thus far. Cattle are inspected for brands after capture and returned on a “case-by-case” basis. Unbranded cattle are auctioned after no one claims it after a five-day notice.
