News

Dangerous cows torment local hikers, threaten environment

Published October 8, 2018 10:16 AM

Just to the west of Palm Springs is a vast, rolling wilderness: the Sand to Snow National Monument. It’s quiet here, a peaceful spot for hikers and nature worshipers, many taking the time to explore the rigorous Pacific Crest Trail. But it’s also where a growing population of an unexpected species has taken control and opened a political can of worms.

“There’s tons of little trails that clearly weren’t made by humans out here,” said Rick Albert, an avid hiker.

Albert has hiked the local section of the Pacific Crest Trail for years. He says he’s noticed significant degradation of the paths, and amid the small bloom of California poppies, a less charming sight.

“The evidence is droppings,” said Albert, referencing the ever-present cow patties.

“To have feral cattle on those lands..is in direct contrast to what was intended on these landscapes,” said Jack Thompson, desert regional director at the Wildlands Conservancy.

Thompson said he first began raising attention to the cow issue in 2014, after seeing damage done to rare endangered bird habitats, water quality, and potential for disease transmission to bighorn sheep roaming the mountain sides. With the feral cow population on the rise, all of that is in jeopardy, not to mention, the risk hikers now face on the trails.

“Out of nowhere, I think I heard it first, and this bull came charging right at me, snorting,” recounted Don Line, a volunteer at the Whitewater Visitors Center and area coordinator for the Pacific Crest Trail. “I had about a second to jump out of the way, and I hit him on the side of the head with a fence post, and he just kept lumbering right down the trail, and then about a hundred yards or so where there was an existing gate, he ran right through it.”

Line was nearly gored by a feral bull in early March while he was doing maintenance on the trails, far out of cellphone reception.

“Easily he could have turned his head, and you know, with his horns or something got my arms or body or something. Who knows?” said Line.

The stories we heard of the illusive feral cattle right in our backyard started to sound like Big Foot sightings. Naturally, we had to see them for ourselves. Jack Thompson led CBS Local 2’s Kelley Moody and assistant news director Tim Kiley on a 7-mile trek in search of the animals. We sent our drone Skyview 2 through the nooks and crannies of the trails, but the cows continued to evade us.

Days later, we received video taken by one of the rangers of a group of cattle grazing just south of the Whitewater Visitor’s Center.

Thompson believes the damage done by the cattle could be in the millions, much of that being taxpayer money. The Bureau of Land Management is leading the investigation into the feral cattle.

“We’ve heard a couple of different speculative rumors, and we’re trying to do our due diligence to figure out who, if anyone, has an ownership interest at this time, but it’s uncertain,” said Douglas Herrema, Palm Springs South Coast field manager with the Bureau of Land Management.

Line, the volunteer who had the dangerous encounter with a feral bull, believes the cattle came from the local Indian reservation. We looked into the rumors surrounding reservation involvement and received the following statement from Michael Fisher, spokesman for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians:

There is nothing to suggest that this cattle originated from Morongo. Wild cattle have been roaming the San Bernardino Mountains since the late 1800’s when cattle ranches dotted this entire region from Whitewater to Yucaipa to the mountain communities. It’s not uncommon for these unbranded cows to wander out of the mountains onto the Morongo Reservation, so the tribe has been in contact with the BLM, the US Forest Service, and others to discuss managing the issue.

Herrema said there may be between 80 and 120 head of cattle roaming freely in the area. He said his office is awaiting approval for a funding proposal to proceed with solutions to the issue, some as simple as fencing the area.

“Because of the ruggedness of the terrain, because of the number of animals, because of the nature of them being feral, it could be quite challenging. It could take some time,” said Herrema, “The ranchers with whom I’ve spoken have said domestic cattle out on a plain are quite a bit easier to corral than wild animals in the hills, so it’s very difficult to speculate. I wouldn’t be comfortable providing a timeline, but we are committed to working on the issue diligently.”

Those on the trails say they’ve also come across feral dogs who they believe were dumped and have taken up residency in the area. Herrema tells us the dogs have been seen preying on wild cattle. He said one of the dogs was killed by a legal hunter who was protecting himself. He believes there are two left and says BLM is working with Riverside County Animal Control to handle the issue.