New Mexico ranchers have filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s moves to block cattle from reaching water in order to protect the habitat of an endangered meadow jumping mouse.
The lawsuit, filed Monday by two dozen ranchers and grazing organizations, argues that federal agencies are violating their property rights by fencing off access to watering areas along the Santa Fe and Lincoln national forests.
The Fish and Wildlife Service issued an order June 9 listing as endangered the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse. But in the lawsuit, ranchers argue that the federal government has disregarded its own rules by moving to cut off access before issuing a ruling on the species’ critical habitat.
The suit is one of a string of legal actions and protests by Westerners against Obama administration land-use and wildlife management policies in recent years.
The agency proposed last year designating about 200 miles of critical habitat for the mouse in eight New Mexico counties, as well as parts of Arizona and Colorado, but federal authorities have not yet made a final decision on habitat nor completed a mandatory environmental analysis, the lawsuit argues.
The Forest Service issued a July 8 notice saying the fencing projects were needed to protect riparian areas because “livestock grazing has the potential to jeopardize the species.”
The Santa Fe-based group WildEarth Guardians has threatened to sue for greater restrictions on grazing in order to protect the mouse’s habitat, while ranchers argue that the Forest Service is violating the terms of their grazing permits.
“It is my opinion that the actions being taken are being done without consideration of our heritage, cultures or our devoted conservation efforts,” northern New Mexico rancher Mike Lucero told the Associated Press. “The effects of ignoring the law will have drastic negative effects on our communities and will serve to destroy our multi-generational agricultural heritage.”
Western sentiment against federal land policies has been simmering, highlighted by the armed standoff between officials of the Bureau of Land Management and Nevada ranch Cliven Bundy.
As a July House hearing on the issue, witnesses railed against the administration’s record and called on Congress last week to provide more oversight over the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies that he said are abusing their authority at the expense of rural residents.
The hearing was the second on what rural residents describe as a worrisome shift in the attitude of federal agents, who critics say are increasingly reflecting a regulatory culture that views grazing, logging and other natural resource-based industries with a jaundiced eye.
Those testifying at that hearing said that the relationship between rural America and federal agencies has never been worse, accusing land managers of violating federal and state laws in order to make life more difficult for ranchers and others.
“This is about relationships. Its not about disagreement over policy,” said Albuquerque attorney Blair Dunn, who represents Otero County, New Mexico. “This is about federal employees, federal agencies, and federal bureaucrats not following the laws.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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