By Ron Gonzales
Beacon Staff Writer
CIBOLA COUNTY – Cibola County Commissioner Patrick Simpson remembers when, back in 2007, Reserve Independent Schools built wolf-proof shelters for children to use at school bus stops, in areas where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had reintroduced the Mexican gray wolf.
The wood and wire mesh buildings came about largely because of pressure from Catron County residents, ranchers and outfitters, who were worried that with wolves roaming around, it couldn’t be a good situation for children to be left unprotected.
Critics called the move an overreaction while proponents denied it was all a publicity stunt.
Fast forward to 2013, and now Simpson seems to be sharing some of those same worries for the people of Cibola County and beyond.
Simpson and some of his constituents and friends recently held an unofficial meeting to discuss a new Fish and Wildlife Service call for public comment on the population designation of the Mexican wolf, not to be confused with the Mexican gray wolf, which is now thriving after years of revitalization efforts.
The Mexican wolf, a smaller and differently colored wolf, has enjoyed some of this same revitalization, but the Service seems headed towards a management plan that could possibly expand the area in which the species thrives. This could include areas in Cibola County, particularly areas to the south, west and east, if such an expansion took place.
In the current revitalization plan, Mexican gray wolves and Mexican wolves might travel out of the original boundary, called the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, an area that does include Cibola County. However, typically, those wolves would be returned to the sort of “ground zero” of the original habitat area, which borders both Arizona and New Mexico.
A new plan, though, could allow the Mexican wolf to not only leave that origination point, but also find new homes and thrive, with limited management of such movement.
The already-established Population Area only stretches north to I-40, and similarly, does not extend South of Interstate 10 in southern New Mexico, and that is also a worry for Simpson.
“In Northwestern New Mexico we have oil and gas industries, good economic development,” he said. “And in this very County, ranchers play a big part of our economic development. Who are we going to choose? Are we going to make it so more people can’t have income?”
As of now, the Service’s call for public input means that it wishes to use such comments to draft an Environmental Impact Statement, one that considers “reasonable alternatives” to changing the terms of the Area’s boundaries. Furthermore, with the Federal Government shutdown in effect, the public comment period, which first was slated to end on Sept. 19, has been extended to Oct. 28.
A meeting originally planned for Oct. 10 by the Mount Taylor Ranger District, Cibola National Forest, has also been put on hold because of the Government shutdown.
When that meeting will be rescheduled is unknown.
What is known is that Simpson said he plans on meeting with his constituents again regarding this matter, and other Cibola County Commissioners too, with the idea of presenting a Memorandum of Understanding that will present official comments for the Service’s proposal. He also said he welcomes any citizen comments on this matter.
“I like to take my grandkids, who live in California, to Ojo Redondo (in the Zuni Mountains) for a few days in the summer,” Simpson said. “My question now is, are we going to have to fence it off too so they can be safe? Maybe that’s going to extremes, but this is an issue that could affect a lot of people’s lives.”