Some ecological impacts associated with trespass/feral cattle in BAND

Allen, Craig

Feral and other trespass cattle have been an administrative problem at BAND ever since permitted cattle were removed after the assumption of NPS control in 1932, and they have almost certainly been a significant perturbation to natural ecosystems within the current park boundaries since the 1880's (Allen 1989:145-148). Historic impacts of cattle (and other) livestock grazing in BAND include: 1) gross alterations in the species composition of local vegetation associations; 2) major reductions in herbaceous plant and litter ground cover, thereby acting as a primary cause of accelerated soil erosion; and 3) de facto suppression of natural fires in the late 1800's and early 1900's through overgrazing-induced reductions in the quantity and continuity of the herbaceous fuels which were carrying the fires. In the last decade trespass cattle activity has been largely focused in two areas of the park: 1) along the Rio Grande and the lower portions of its tributary canyons; and 2) the montane meadows west of FR 289 along the base of Scooter Peak, in the 1977 Upper Frijoles Accession. The remainder of this document will focus on the ecological impacts associated with recent cattle grazing in these two areas.