Summer thunderstorms built up on the horizon of the Marquez/L Bar Wildlife Management Area. This years monsoon season has been a memorable one. It's rare that the landscape of New Mexico stays this verdant green throughout the summer months. Lush grama grass and abundant browse will make for healthy elk calves going into the winter months, but miles of barbed wire fencing pose a threat to their survival. On August 9 Backcountry Hunters and Anglers partnered with the New Mexico Department of Fish and Game to organize a fence removal event on the newly acquired L Bar Ranch near Laguna, NM.
The L Bar Ranch was purchased in 2022 through a partnership with the Trust For Public Land, the State of NM, federal excise tax from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act as well as a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The new purchase of 54,000 acres expanded the existing Marquez WMA to 68,000 acres. The addition of the L Bar has joined large swaths of BLM land and Forest Service land, making it easier for biologist like Travis Zaffarano from NMDGF, to manage the Mt Taylor elk herd. This was the basis behind the fence removal event. The upper elevations of the L Bar are prime habitat for elk calving, a mosaic of ponderosa pine, oak and meadows mixed in with a diversity of shrubby browse. The problem lies in the miles of barbed wire fencing that bisect this habitat. The ranch had been grazed heavily by cattle and sheep for generations. Elk calves cannot jump these fences and can become separated from the herd, resulting in increased stress and mortality. That is where the hardworking volunteers of BHA come in to play.
Including BHA Habitat Stewardship Coordinator Bard Edrington V, 7 BHA members, 2 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation members and 5 NM Game and Fish employees made the trek to the L Bar Ranch. This was the first year of this partnership with NMDGF and RMEF. We were lucky to get to work alongside the Elk Biologist Travis Zaffarano, Bighorn Biologist Tom Batter, Habitat Biologist Brock Lorenzen, regional Game Warden Tuff Wimberley and the L Bar Ranch Manager Larrame Hammer.
The day began with a briefing of the importance of this project by NMDGF Elk Biologist Travis Zaffarano as well as the work at hand. Driving past the many volcanic plugs we climbed up the mesa as the habitat changed to upland conifer and oak mosaic. We split into two groups and tackled the task of dropping the four strand barbed wire fencing. The wire was removed from the t-posts and old juniper posts and cut into 300' sections to be rolled up by the ranch manager. After lunch the groups headed back out, only to be met by one of New Mexico's famous summer monsoons. There was no chance to hide from the downpour, resulting in soaked blue jeans and dripping hats. The downpour was no match for the volunteers drive to remove fencing.
In total they removed 6 miles of fencing creating improved wildlife connectivity and better calving grounds for elk. NMDGF was impressed with the BHA's volunteers and their dedication to habitat stewardship. Our members are what set BHA apart from other organizations. Building relationships with state and federal agencies is critical in helping maintain and improve habitat and access on our public lands. Thanks to everyone that was involved. BHA looks forward to many years of habitat stewardship on the L Bar.
If you would like to join events like this one, check out NM BHA's event page here.
About Bard Edrington
Bard Edrington is the New Mexico Habitat Stewardship Coordinator. He is a lifelong bowhunter, conservationist and songwriter. Bard lives with his wife and teenage son in Santa Fe.