Wilderness Watch is opposing a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to authorize cattle grazing in the 31,792-acre Palmerita Ranch Allotment, which includes 4,200 acres within the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. The Wilderness and surrounding area is unsuitable for grazing, consisting mainly of a combination of Mojave and Sonoran desert plants such as Joshua tree and saguaro cactus.
The Santa Maria River and its tributary, the Big Sandy, provide a unique ephemeral riparian zone within the proposed grazing allotment and Wilderness, fostering plants like Fremont cottonwoods, willows, cattails, sedges, and honey mesquite. Threatened and endangered species inhabit the area, including the yellow-billed cuckoo, southwestern willow flycatcher, and northern Mexican gartersnake. The rare Sonoran Desert tortoise is also a special status species here. The area also provides important habitat for mountain lions, desert bighorn sheep, javelina, and numerous other birds, amphibians, reptiles, and bats.
The BLM allotment has not been grazed by cattle since 1996, and re-opening the area to cattle grazing would create substantial impacts to the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness, its watersheds, and native wildlife. According to BLM’s environmental assessment, only recently have native perennial grass species begun to recover since such recovery is a very slow process in fragile desert environments like this. Allowing cattle grazing now would also halt and reverse recovery for species like Sonoran Desert tortoise, which depend on perennial grass. In fact, recent research shows cattle are the biggest threat to desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert. Additionally, the allotment has not yet reached three key rangeland health standards, and under no condition should grazing be allowed until those standards are met. Because of damage from past grazing, the rangeland standards may never be met.
BLM considers five alternatives in its Environmental Assessment, but four of the alternatives would degrade the Wilderness. Wilderness Watch is urging BLM to adopt the only alternative that protects the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness—Alternative E, the no livestock grazing alternative.
Photo: Matt Fiedler
