Posted on 03/18/2022 9:17:12 AM PDT by SJackson
ALPINE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – The US Forest Services will be collecting ‘feral’ horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Alpine starting Mar. 21st. The removal of the horses comes after the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit group based out of Tucson, filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service for violating the Endangered Species Act. The group claims the Forest Service fails to control feral animals’ damage to the meadows and streams, which are the New Mexico Jumping Mouse’s federally protected habitat.
“Since the early 2000s, feral horses have been causing severe damage to the habitat of threatened and endangered species in an area including the Chiricahua leopard frog, narrow-headed garter snake, loach minnow, and Apache trout, and New Mexico meadow jumping mouse - which is nearing extinction. There are indirect effects on habitats of Three Forks spring snail and Mexican spotted owl. Collection of these feral horses is an ongoing process and necessary for responsible forest management for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests,” said Jeffrey Todd, the spokesperson for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF).
The Center for Biological Diversity says the jumping mouse relies heavily on the tall grass and streams in the Alpine area, which they claim unauthorized livestock are damaging.
“What is really the damage the horses are doing? Because when you have elk and deer and cattle and they’re all kind of using the same area, you can’t really say it’s the horses doing the damage,” said Simone Netherlands, an Arizona wild horse advocate. Netherlands says she and other horse advocates were notified two days ago of the roundup and wish they had more notice. “We think it’s really sad we’re only getting seven days to try to save these horses. That’s not enough time for the public to give their input.”
(Excerpt) Read more at azfamily.com ...
Because the ‘government’ (Forest Service) and the ‘environmental groups’ are made up of libtards fighting for the same cause. It’s a bad case of two groups made up from the same cloth.
“Feral horses are an invasive, non-indigenous species that destroys the carrying capacity of the forest, just like they do in the desert.”
100% right. More people need to know there. There are a lot of areas over populated with wild horses. (Including the area right around my neighborhood)
The only thing I’ve ever seen elk eat by grazing was clover. And that was in a lawn. We’d left it for them. Generally, they seem to browse, to include some pretty nasty stuff.
In my mind, that is likely. I can’t remember reading any Pioneer stories referring to wild horses in that area. I haven’t read everything, but I have read quite a bit.
“the Center for Biological Diversity”
You can’t be serious
I have not seen any indication of feral hogs in the Apache Nat’l Forest.
That was such a terrible thing for them to do. They refused to give local ranchers time to get them out.
“Center for Biological Diversity”
The problem is this group. They are a bunch of lawyers that make money by suing federal, state, county and local governments. They blackmail the orgs until they get a payoff. They don’t care a bit about the environment.
Are they planning on killing them or rounding them up and selling them like they have done in the past?
99% of all species on Earth have gone extinct. Maybe it’s the Jumping Mouse’s turn.
Perhaps guided hunts for the French?
Yeah, that’s reasonable. There are horse rescue operations in that area and all over the West that could take care of that.
But there’s no real threat of mass horse destruction of habitat or niche exapansion. There’s hardly any of them. This is just more exaggeration by the CBD, which is a bunch of Leftist jerks in Tucson. They use straw man endangered species arguments to accomplish draconian shut downs in Arizona and New Mexico like others on this thread have pointed out.
They simply want all humans out of any areas except well confined places where everyone will live in high rise appartments (”own nothing and be happy”) and only occasionally be let into the pristine forests on a viewer trolley chaperoned by an Enlightened One, preferably a paroled Earth First! terrorist.
Grew up in Southern Arizona, saw my first black bear out the back door in a cabin on Hawley Lake in like ‘64; used to groove out on the wilderness around Hannagan’s in the early 80’s back when the road was still 666. Never saw a wild horse. That’s how friggin’ rare they are.
Perhaps 500 years of stream destruction led to the current problems. I’ve never seen any use of the land by deer and elk that I would describe as destructive.
What did people do about all those endangered species many years ago? Weren’t there wild horses then, too? Aren’t they part of the endangered species, and I would think more important than a mouse? Last time I looked, a mouse was a rodent. I don’t have any in my house, but if I did, I sure would not be trying to preserve them. I’m thinking the Mexican Spotted Owl that was mentioned may be doing his part in reducing the mouse population as well.
yes—IIRC, the best cure for too many “wild”horses is a.30 caliber ,150-180 grain bullet at about 2400 fps—
That occurred to me too. But they were domesticated Hispanic horses before becoming wild, thus feral. I guess at least a half millenia.
Imagine what this group of ninnies would have done to the wild buffalo herds in the 1800’s.
When I was a kid in the 60s, the local zoo was feeding the big cats; the “steaks” were four inches thick and two feet in diameter with a little bone in the center — just like in the cartoons! They said it was horse.
I want a giant horse steak!
“Never saw a wild horse. That’s how friggin’ rare they are.”
I’ve been in the area since the late 80’s and haven’t seen a wild horse either. The CBD is f**king BAD news…
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