Half the herd of feral cattle in the Pueblo and Bayo Canyons have been removed, however this one seen Tuesday near the Ponderosa mailboxes has eluded the cowboys. Phot by JoAnna O’Neill

COUNTY NEWS

During a successful first attempt at rounding up feral cattle in Pueblo and Bayo canyons, half of the herd was removed safely and humanely, according to Eric Peterson, Los Alamos County Open Space Specialist. The remaining cattle have not been seen in over a week and area trails reopened today.

Los Alamos County’s Open Space crews are continuing to monitor for cattle in the area and, if necessary, a temporary closure may be issued to round up the remaining cattle. Crews are shifting most of their monitoring and roundup efforts to Rendija Canyon and the area near Guaje Pines Cemetery. When caught, cattle are transferred to the State Livestock Association. The only closure resulting from that shift is the trail from Deer Trap Mesa down to Rendija, which will be closed on Monday until further notice. The trails on top of Deer Trap Mesa will remain open.

Several trails were closed in the County in April when operations to remove feral cattle began. The removal was necessary because the cattle were impacting the safety of drivers on local roads, damaging cultural sites, and behaving aggressively toward recreators in the county. Closed trails included those in both Pueblo and Bayo canyons as well as Camp Hamilton Trail, Tent Rocks Trail and Zipline Trail. Bayo Canyon Road and Pueblo Canyon Road were also closed.

The cattle herd removal is being performed by Cody Fahrion with Busted Spur Cattle Company of Pagosa Springs, Colo., with the help of Open Space Division staff. Open Space is a division of the Los Alamos County Community Services Department.

Peterson expressed that the public’s understanding and patience during efforts to remove the cattle are greatly appreciated.