Sheriff Danny Perkins presented to the Garfield County commission February 28 on an ongoing issue with feral cows running down the Escalante River. Grand Canyon Trust owns the grazing allotment in the area largely for the purpose of keeping cattle off the river, but after BLM staff and hikers had submitted a picture of cows down there, the BLM, Glen Canyon NRA and GCT called for a joint meeting last summer with staff and ranchers to figure out a solution.
Around 50–60 cows had eventually left other allotments to wind up down on the river.
The BLM estimated that over the years, around 50–60 cows had eventually left other allotments to wind up down on the river, never to be gathered by ranchers. GCT and BLM had asked Perkins if they could just shoot the cows, but Perkins was opposed since many of the cows still had tags.
The discussion turned to finding a solution to remove the cows. Ranchers have a difficult time herding wild cows which they say act just like wild animals and can also be dangerous. “Going down there and trying to herd cows out of the willows is like trying to scare rabbits out of the brush,” Perkins said.
JS Butler of Flying V Ranch and other ranchers who attended the meeting recommended instead that they could insert a group of domestic cows in the area to mingle with the feral cows, which would make it easier for them to drive all the cows out together.
At the meeting, GCT and BLM staff seemed to agree that the plan would work, and Perkins said they were reasonable to work with. They would have to talk to higher-ups at headquarters, however.
Perkins lamented that after the meeting, however, GCT and BLM went dark, and in spite of a good session of problem solving last summer, nothing ever came of it.
BLM later told the county that the idea of sending in new domestic cows in the area was a “non-starter.”
“There’s always been a few feral cows, but not like now, because [GCT] is just letting the allotment set idle, and the cows get wild,” Sheriff Perkins told The Byway. “I don’t know what Grand Canyon Trust has been doing to keep their permit active, but if they would actually graze and manage their allotments like they’re supposed to, they would not be having a feral cow problem.”
Land managers are still seeking a cost-effective, workable solution to extract the cows from the canyon.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: A feral cow on the Escalante River. Courtesy Robin Silver/HCN.