If left unchecked, growing numbers of elk and wild
cattle could leave New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument eroded
and overgrazed, park officials say. Nearly 30 cows and over 2,000
elk now trample the park’s fragile hillsides and brittle
archaeological ruins and, according to an environmental assessment
released Jan. 13, the cattle herd could double in three years. The
report recommends that managers shoot the feral cattle by March and
leave the carcasses for local scavengers. However, during the
two-week public comment period, more than 30 people volunteered to
round up and keep the cows, says manager Charisse Sydoriak. She
worries a roundup would damage park resources and fail to catch all
the cows. She says the park may combine a restricted roundup with
some shooting. The agency’s plans for dealing with elk are less
definite. Since a massive fire in 1977 created new meadows, elk
numbers in Bandelier have grown exponentially, concludes another
report. But before they can limit Bandelier’s elk, park managers
need a detailed study of their impact, a project Sydoriak says
could take over three years. For more information, contact
Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos, NM 87544
(505/672-3861).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bandelier overrun by hooves.
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