Pronghorn Extinction

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AWF Biologist - Pronghorn problems are on the ground.

In May, prominent antelope biologist Jim Yoakum stood on the shore of Ashurst Lake and with a sweep of his arm told a gathered audience where the problem with Anderson Mesa pronghorn lies.

"It's out there," he said, gesturing to the grasslands to the east. "It's the habitat."

It was an opinion that carried substantial weight. Yoakum wrote the book on antelope, literally. The retired Bureau of Land Management biologist has studied pronghorn across North America since 1954, and developed the BLM's pronghorn management program. The Western Section of the Wildlife Society even has an award for outstanding service named in his honor. Now 17 years since his retirement, he works as a consultant on pronghorn management issues. Earlier this year the Arizona Wildlife Federation hired Yoakum to study Anderson Mesa and prepare a report. AWF is still waiting on Yoakum's final report, but if that often tense exchange with the Forest Service that spring day is any indication, it won't be the feel-good read of the year.

The AWF, which has threatened to challenge all of the grazing allotment plans on Anderson Mesa if they do not provide adequate protection for the mesa's dwindling pronghorn herd, has concluded the impacts of cattle is the thread that runs through all of the problems with the mesa's herd.

AWF argues that these steps need to be taken to allow pronghorn to rebound: Fire needs to be reintroduced to the Anderson Mesa ecosystem so fire-dependent plant species that pronghorn eat can thrive. Fire would also slow the pace of encroaching pinyon and juniper trees, which crowd out the forbs, grasses and other plants pronghorn eat. Critical pronghorn fawning areas need to be identified, and cattle should be excluded from those areas so that sufficient grass cover is available for fawns to hide from predators. Fencing on the mesa must be modified to meet antelope-friendly standards. Though physically capable, pronghorn rarely jump fences, preferring to crawl under. But most barbed-wire fencing is too low. An antelope-friendly fence needs a smooth-wire bottom strand no less than 16 inches off the ground. Recently, AWF has raised the issue of mesa wetlands. Former AWF president Don Farmer contends that developed water tanks -- while a boon to cattle and elk -- may be hindering pronghorn survival. The tanks are often dug in depressions, or playas, where forbs and other weedy plants that pronghorn rely on grow. "If the antelope don't have the proper food to eat, they're going to die," said Rick Erman, who has worked on the antelope issue for the AWF for more than a decade. Predator control. Farmer said gunning coyotes is only a Band-Aid, but it may be necessary to keep the pronghorn population from disappearing altogether.

The AWF's Jack Simon remains unconvinced the mesa's antelope can coexist with an economically viable cattle operation. The changes sought by AWF may make cattle a losing proposition on the mesa.

"If people can run a cattle operation out there in a manner that doesn't degrade the habitat, that would be fine," Simon said. He just doesn't think that's possible.

AWF views grazing as the common theme in all of the factors implicated in the pronghorn decline. Cattle eat the grass pronghorn fawns need to hide from coyotes. Cattle reduce grass cover, and without fine fuels fire will not burn, resulting in pinyon-juniper encroachment and the decline in fire-dependent plant species. And the mesa is criss-crossed by fences for the benefit of cattle.

"This thing is so interwoven," Erman said. "It's like a spider web, you tug here and it gives a little over there. And the damn bovine sits right at the center."

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