The ruling should significantly undermine the historic and ongoing use of grazing permits by ranchers as collateral when getting loans from banks. Forest Guardians is currently trying to acquire information about the nature and extent of all loans on public lands and will initiate a legal challenge to the use of grazing permits as collateral. The Lincoln national forest is one of the most overgrazed forests in the region the Forest Service and ranchers are attempting to scapegoat elk populations for historic and ongoing overgrazing. The move comes just one month after Forest Guardians filed suit, challenging grazing on more than one-third of the Lincoln national forest. The effort to reduce elk numbers on the Lincoln could have widespread implications for elk management throughout New Mexico and could undermine efforts to restore wolves to the Gila national forest.
Elk are the primary prey species for wolves.
In the past, the Commission consistently has chosen to accommodate ranching and farming interests at the expense of fish and wildlife and endangered species in New Mexico. Please write and call the Commission to remind them that wildlife, including elk, should take precedence over cattle on public lands.