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May 29, 2003
Rancher slaughters elk after losing permits
By Darren Marcy, Farmington Daily Times Outdoor Editor
Patrick Lyons and Gov. Richardson have stood proud for ethical conduct against a bad law.
Last week, Lyons, who is the state land commissioner, kicked an Espaola rancher off the land office's Agricultural Advisory Board after the rancher started shooting elk on a Rio Arriba County ranch.
Wednesday, Richardson followed suit, booting the man off the man off the state Livestock Board.
Dave Sanchez, ranch manager of the Chavez Creek Ranch in Brazos, was kicked off the board by Lyons May 21 for shooting the elk and letting them rot after the animals got onto the ranch.
The Department of Game and Fish, handicapped by a state law passed by a rancher of course is relatively helpless to do much about it.
The depredation law says a person can kill any animal that is causing damage on private land. But they also have a chance to work with the department, if they choose, to try to fix the problem. If the department can't find a solution, then the land owner can start killing the animals after one year.
There is no limit as to how many elk or any other animal can be killed. As of last week, 19 elk had been gunned down on the Chavez Creek Ranch.
Sanchez appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican earlier last week, standing next to a dead elk with another photo showing a rotting carcass nearby.
"The State Land Office does not condone the manner in which Sanchez is protecting' his property," Lyons said in a press release. "There are better ways to manage game other than shooting animals and leaving their carcass to rot. The Department of Game and Fish has made every effort to provide alternatives to landowners dealing with animals that depredate property."
Among the alternatives offered were fencing, scare tactics, and hunting authorizations.
Northwest Area Chief Luke Shelby said Joe Garcia, son of the ranch owner for whom Sanchez works, turned down all the offers from the department except for the kill permits.
"What he did goes against everything I believe in," Lyons said. "That's just not right, to shoot some animals and let them lay like that. I'm an avid sportsman. I think you can work with the Game and Fish Department. That's just not the proper way to do it."
Ironically, Lyons is a rancher as well. Sanchez, who has served on the board for eight years, was reappointed in January.
The board advises the land commissioner on policies and programs related to agriculture, grazing leases, hunting, fishing and other wildlife matters.
But Sanchez made other ranchers look bad and Lyons was wise in getting rid of someone who brought shame to an honorable lifestyle and the board to which he had been appointed.
"The ranchers we do business with are exceptional land stewards who respect the land, and support our rangeland, river and wildlife conservation efforts," Lyons said.
After learning of being removed from the Livestock Board by the governor Wednesday, Sanchez said, "I have no regrets in what I've done."
It's possible there was money behind the mass killing.
I think the ranch owners were angered by Department of Game and Fish changes to the depredation program and the number of landowner permits allowed to area ranchers.
Garcia complained that "Hispanic families can't afford to feed the state's elk for free."
But it looks like the key fact is the number of hunting authorizations for bull elk the ranch was awarded was reduced to three, down from 10 bull tags last year.
The reduction was across the board. All landowner tags in the area were reduced.
Could that be the reason the ranch refused to work with the department on settling the elk issue?
Different numbers have been thrown around, but the bull elk tags on the ranch were reportedly sold to hunters and outfitters for between $2,500 to $5,000 each. With an income of as much as $50,000 suddenly cut by two-thirds, perhaps they decided to give the department a black eye in the press.
I think that's backfired.
In fact, the elk killing on the ranch has stopped, reportedly after other area ranchers sounded off against killing the elk.
After all, mass slaughter not only makes all ranchers look bad in the public eye, but it also cuts into their potential income from landowner authorizations as well.
In fact, the reason the landowner authorizations were cut in the first place was because of declining bull quality in the area and was called for by people in that area.
Ranchers killing elk has been a sporadic but emotional problem in this state.
Shelby said that fewer than five ranchers have used the law to slaughter elk, deer, or whatever species causing the problems. He said that 99.5 percent of ranchers work with the department to solve the problem and never end up killing wildlife.
But high-profile cases like Narcisso Baca in the southwest, who claimed to have killed around 100 elk on his land several years ago, raise the public ire.
The problem behind this situation is a state law which has confounded the Department of Game and Fish since it was first passed in 1997.
Sen. Tim Jennings of Chavez County, a rancher, pushed the depredation bill through the Legislature to help solve problems with animals causing damage to landowners' property.
Because of the bad taste the bill has left in the public's mind, another bill last session would have prevented any rancher who accepts landowner permits from killing elk caught on private land, and also would have allowed them to kill only females or immature animals.
The bill was voted down on the floor of the Senate by two votes.
Sanchez and the Chavez Creek Ranch have stopped shooting elk for now. Shelby said the department still wants to solve the problem.
"He voluntarily stopped killing and we're in the process of trying to work out another solution with him," Shelby said.
That's a good thing.
People who love elk hunters and nonhunters should make their voices heard to solve this problem.
Perhaps the bill could be changed removing the provision that allows anyone to indiscriminately kill elk when it's caught eating private grass.
Or maybe a new bill, built from the ground up with all sides sitting at the table, can find a legitimate solution to a very real problem.
The current measure is no way to manage wildlife, and it's no way to run a ranch.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Darren Marcy is the outdoor editor for The Daily Times. His phone number is (505) 564-4627; his e-mail address is: DarrenM@daily-times.com .
Rancher slaughters elk after losing permits
By Darren Marcy, Farmington Daily Times Outdoor Editor
Patrick Lyons and Gov. Richardson have stood proud for ethical conduct against a bad law.
Last week, Lyons, who is the state land commissioner, kicked an Espaola rancher off the land office's Agricultural Advisory Board after the rancher started shooting elk on a Rio Arriba County ranch.
Wednesday, Richardson followed suit, booting the man off the man off the state Livestock Board.
Dave Sanchez, ranch manager of the Chavez Creek Ranch in Brazos, was kicked off the board by Lyons May 21 for shooting the elk and letting them rot after the animals got onto the ranch.
The Department of Game and Fish, handicapped by a state law passed by a rancher of course is relatively helpless to do much about it.
The depredation law says a person can kill any animal that is causing damage on private land. But they also have a chance to work with the department, if they choose, to try to fix the problem. If the department can't find a solution, then the land owner can start killing the animals after one year.
There is no limit as to how many elk or any other animal can be killed. As of last week, 19 elk had been gunned down on the Chavez Creek Ranch.
Sanchez appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican earlier last week, standing next to a dead elk with another photo showing a rotting carcass nearby.
"The State Land Office does not condone the manner in which Sanchez is protecting' his property," Lyons said in a press release. "There are better ways to manage game other than shooting animals and leaving their carcass to rot. The Department of Game and Fish has made every effort to provide alternatives to landowners dealing with animals that depredate property."
Among the alternatives offered were fencing, scare tactics, and hunting authorizations.
Northwest Area Chief Luke Shelby said Joe Garcia, son of the ranch owner for whom Sanchez works, turned down all the offers from the department except for the kill permits.
"What he did goes against everything I believe in," Lyons said. "That's just not right, to shoot some animals and let them lay like that. I'm an avid sportsman. I think you can work with the Game and Fish Department. That's just not the proper way to do it."
Ironically, Lyons is a rancher as well. Sanchez, who has served on the board for eight years, was reappointed in January.
The board advises the land commissioner on policies and programs related to agriculture, grazing leases, hunting, fishing and other wildlife matters.
But Sanchez made other ranchers look bad and Lyons was wise in getting rid of someone who brought shame to an honorable lifestyle and the board to which he had been appointed.
"The ranchers we do business with are exceptional land stewards who respect the land, and support our rangeland, river and wildlife conservation efforts," Lyons said.
After learning of being removed from the Livestock Board by the governor Wednesday, Sanchez said, "I have no regrets in what I've done."
It's possible there was money behind the mass killing.
I think the ranch owners were angered by Department of Game and Fish changes to the depredation program and the number of landowner permits allowed to area ranchers.
Garcia complained that "Hispanic families can't afford to feed the state's elk for free."
But it looks like the key fact is the number of hunting authorizations for bull elk the ranch was awarded was reduced to three, down from 10 bull tags last year.
The reduction was across the board. All landowner tags in the area were reduced.
Could that be the reason the ranch refused to work with the department on settling the elk issue?
Different numbers have been thrown around, but the bull elk tags on the ranch were reportedly sold to hunters and outfitters for between $2,500 to $5,000 each. With an income of as much as $50,000 suddenly cut by two-thirds, perhaps they decided to give the department a black eye in the press.
I think that's backfired.
In fact, the elk killing on the ranch has stopped, reportedly after other area ranchers sounded off against killing the elk.
After all, mass slaughter not only makes all ranchers look bad in the public eye, but it also cuts into their potential income from landowner authorizations as well.
In fact, the reason the landowner authorizations were cut in the first place was because of declining bull quality in the area and was called for by people in that area.
Ranchers killing elk has been a sporadic but emotional problem in this state.
Shelby said that fewer than five ranchers have used the law to slaughter elk, deer, or whatever species causing the problems. He said that 99.5 percent of ranchers work with the department to solve the problem and never end up killing wildlife.
But high-profile cases like Narcisso Baca in the southwest, who claimed to have killed around 100 elk on his land several years ago, raise the public ire.
The problem behind this situation is a state law which has confounded the Department of Game and Fish since it was first passed in 1997.
Sen. Tim Jennings of Chavez County, a rancher, pushed the depredation bill through the Legislature to help solve problems with animals causing damage to landowners' property.
Because of the bad taste the bill has left in the public's mind, another bill last session would have prevented any rancher who accepts landowner permits from killing elk caught on private land, and also would have allowed them to kill only females or immature animals.
The bill was voted down on the floor of the Senate by two votes.
Sanchez and the Chavez Creek Ranch have stopped shooting elk for now. Shelby said the department still wants to solve the problem.
"He voluntarily stopped killing and we're in the process of trying to work out another solution with him," Shelby said.
That's a good thing.
People who love elk hunters and nonhunters should make their voices heard to solve this problem.
Perhaps the bill could be changed removing the provision that allows anyone to indiscriminately kill elk when it's caught eating private grass.
Or maybe a new bill, built from the ground up with all sides sitting at the table, can find a legitimate solution to a very real problem.
The current measure is no way to manage wildlife, and it's no way to run a ranch.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Darren Marcy is the outdoor editor for The Daily Times. His phone number is (505) 564-4627; his e-mail address is: DarrenM@daily-times.com .
