Ruedas calls wolf meeting a success
By Walter Mares, News Editor
No one cried wolf. Neither did anyone shout it. Instead, the wolf was discussed at great length. The meeting covered an entire day.
After all was said, Greenlee County Supervisor Hector Ruedas called it a “very successful” session.
A standing-room-only crowd packed the upstairs conference room of the Greenlee County Courthouse in Clifton Feb. 13. Some supported the ongoing Mexican Gray Wolf re-introduction program. Most in the crowd were from Greenlee County and oppose, or at least strongly question, the rationale of the program.
Several ranchers told horror stories of their cattle being killed by wolves and the economic hardship the program is causing them.
The meeting was potentially volatile, but self-restraint and leadership on the Interagency Management Advisory Group (IMAG) defused any explosive action. Ruedas serves on IMAG. He has often voiced strong opposition to the wolf program.
“Personally I thought it was a productive meeting,” Ruedas said. “Anybody who wanted to, spoke their piece.”
That included Supervisors Chairwoman Dixie Zumwalt and Justice of the Peace Rocky Manuz, who said he was speaking as a rancher. Manuz and his family run a cattle ranch in the Black Hills between Clifton and Safford.
Zumwalt said she has yet to see an actual accounting of the money spent on the program by the federal government, particularly the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
“I would like to challenge this group to come up with an actual cost, not the phony baloney we were given at the (previous) Clifton meeting,” Zumwalt said.
“I think part of any issue in our world is the cost. I feel people have a right to know that cost. These are, after all, taxpayer dollars being used.”
A meeting facilitator and Brian Kelly of the USFWS both said it is something that will be done and released to the public.
Manuz introduced himself. “I am a family man first, a rancher second and a JP third.”
He told IMAG members, “You get a paycheck every two weeks. We ranchers get a paycheck once a year.” He said even that depends on several factors, from the weather to market prices and the presence of predators.
He looked at the crowd and said, “I see some smirks, some comments made and some grinning.” He said it wasn’t a laughing matter.
“We’re trying to come up with some type of common factor. I feel ranchers are environmentalists, too. We’ve got to take care of the land if we want to keep using it.”
Manuz said he takes exception to attacks on ranchers and grazing rights on public lands. He referred to an article he said he read in a Phoenix periodical which quoted a metropolitan resident as saying cattle were “range maggots.” The man reportedly said, “I don’t want those range maggots on my (public) land.”
Manuz said about the time the man was making the comment, “This range maggot,” and pointed to himself, “was working hard with his family laying six miles of 21-inch water line to water our cows.”
He strongly pointed out wildlife also benefit greatly from the water line in the rough and rocky Black Hills.
“I wasn’t going to say anything at this meeting, but I felt I had to say what I’ve had to say,” Manuz said.
A man in the audience who supports the wolf program said the meeting itself probably had a positive economic impact with people staying at motels and eating at restaurants in Greenlee County. He said there could be other positive local economic results from the wolf program.
Zumwalt told the audience, “Those of you who spent the night in a motel in Greenlee County, please raise your hands.” She asked government agency representatives to exclude themselves. Only two in the audience raised their hands.
Zumwalt said the economic loss of cattle can’t be compared to the small benefit from events such as the meeting. She called for a cost- ratio report from wolf program management.
Terry Johnson of the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AG&F), who facilitated the meeting, said, “”We’re extremely dissatisfied with the way we, collectively, have handled things.”
Ruedas pointed out management has been transferred from the federal game and wildlife service to the AG&F. He sees that as a step in the right direction as it allows more localized control of the program.
“I think we need to give them a chance,” Ruedas said after the meeting. “They are certainly going to look at improving communication, especially with the stake holders (ranchers).”
Ruedas said like it or not, the wolf program probably “isn’t going to go away.” He said for the meantime it appears communication and coordination between all involved is critical.
“Let’s work with game and fish. They will get us information on money actually spent. They will also establish a phone number to call for information,” he said.
Ruedas added, “I think I see a lot of positive things coming out of this.”