By Jerry Lackey
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Strong opposition to re-establish the gray wolf recovery territory into West Texas was expressed in a resolution passed by the Texas Sheep & Goat Raisers’ Association members at their winter meeting here Saturday.
The Preliminary Draft Environmental Assessment for the Implementation of a Southwestern Gray Wolf Management Plan was released Dec. 17 for review and comment by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The packed assembly of ranchers at Angelo State University Management, Instruction & Research Center north of San Angelo voted unanimously to oppose the plan, not only from Texas but including New Mexico and Arizona.
“Further, be it resolved that the TSGRA does not support wolf recovery within Texas and desires any wolf found within the state be returned to wolf recovery areas or lethally removed if causing damage,” said Joe Will Ross, TSGRA resolutions committee chairman.
“We were aware that plans were afoot to try to re-establish the Southwestern Gray Wolf in New Mexico and Arizona, but were told a good while ago that Texas was not part of the plan,” said Sandy Whittley, TSGRA executive secretary. “It now appears that it is, and the line runs from Amarillo to Lubbock to San Angelo to Del Rio, which would effectively cover a huge portion of our state’s livestock production area.”
According to the draft released by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the gray wolf is classified as an endangered species in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, except between I-10 and I-40 in Arizona and New Mexico and north of U.S. Highway 62/180 in Texas.
“Ranchers in far West Texas are already plagued with predatory problems from mountain lions and coyotes,” said Bob Buchholz, TSGRA vice president. “Having another large predator in the area would absolutely decimate livestock production there.”
West Texas lands, which are ideal breeding grounds for large predators, encompass the mountainous terrain of the Davis Mountains and the Pecos River watershed in Jeff Davis, Brewster, Pecos, Terrell and Val Verde counties.
The Big Bend region in Brewster County includes Big Bend Ranch State Park, Black Gap Wildlife Management Area and Big Bend National Park, which is contiguous to Parque Natural Sierra Maderas del Carmen (northern Coahuila, Mexico, south of Big Bend National Park).
In other business, Dr. Dee Ellis, a state veterinarian from Austin, reported no confirmed cases of scrapie in Texas since 2009. The last big spike in Texas scrapie cases was in 2006 with nine infected herds.
Scrapie is a degenerative disease of the nervous system that falls into the category of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The disease is caused by a transmissible prion or abnormal protein, which is very stable in the environment.
“Texas has made significant progress in battling this disease,” Ellis said. “The Scrapie Program has proved to be successful in Texas. Fighting this disease and implementing an animal identification program has worked. To date, Texas has 30 participating flocks enrolled in the Scrapie Flock Certification program.”
“Wool and mohair prices have rebounded, and it should be a good year ahead,” said Ronald Pope, general manager of Producers Marketing Cooperative in Mertzon. “Sheep shearing season is under way, and early arrivals of fleeces coming into the warehouse look good and are cleaner with longer staple compared to last year.”
Pope said mohair fleeces are also clean and well grown this year.
A more detailed report on the Angora goat and mohair industry will be shared with members of the Mohair Council of America when they meet today for the winter session. It will be at Zentner’s Daughter Steakhouse from 8:30 a.m. until noon.