By Mary Alice Murphy

The purpose of the special meeting was to approve the 2024 primary election results.

However, in public input, several attendees addressed an item on the work session agenda immediately following the special meeting. 

Several residents spoke against the Wildlife Services contract, most from prepared statements, each at the beginning or end of their input, thanking the commissioners for what they do.

Candace Breen-Lee, who said she was also speaking on behalf of her husband Robert Lee, said the contract does not serve wildlife. "It seems to serve a few ranchers and the mine as well. We put up fences and we have dogs on our property to keep wildlife at bay."

She continued by saying the M44s are illegal on public lands. "What happened to non-lethal first? It was in the contract last year. And what happened to quarterly reports?"

"Another issue is Madame County Manager, who is supposed to let you know about the issues that need to be discussed," Breen-Lee continued. "She was either derelict in her duty or complicit with those who want the contract signed with the new changes. Either way, she should be held accountable. If (District 5) Commissioner (Harry) Browne had not taken a moment to scan the document, we would not have known about these changes. Please hold Wildlife Services accountable." 

April Lee was next to speak. "I was born and raised in New Mexico and I love this place. At a previous meeting, a commissioner called the director of Wildlife Services highly skilled. It's funny, as the contract requires using relocation and other non-lethal measures before resorting to lethal methods. He reports in his Q2 2024 report a 100 percent kill rate. It is not difficult to kill wildlife. Anyone with a car can kill wildlife without even trying. I counted 10 animal corpses on my run through town only yesterday. Children in ATVs kill wildlife on and off roads all the time, yet the public is led to believe there is great acumen and skill in killing wildlife. This is silly, but what is less silly is that $92,000 is proposed for this task. For someone working day in and day out at the mine, this is more than their annual take home pay. The district supervisor, in his report, shows that he does not adhere to this contract, for working a fraction of the 624 hours minimum required. It's insulting to the public that this contract is put up for renewal."

She continued: "If this agency's contracts are continually not adhered to and are championed by the county manager's office, what other contracts are also being processed with financial malfeasance. Wildlife services is a solution in search of a problem. We live here because we like wildlife. We appreciate coyotes howling, who are included in the kill report."

Lee alleged the contract was clearly just cut and pasted from a previous contract, "with a pay raise for not fulfilling the last contract " as new points of concern. New Mexico's Roxie's Law prohibits the use of leg-hold traps and M44 capsule on public lands, yet they are included in the list of tools and equipment list. "Why?"

She called it a definite step backward to have them in the contract. She also pointed out required language that is not included in the report including location and species. She alleged the wildlife specialist would be paid "a whopping $107 an hour." Lee also said it does not delineate what species are allowed to exist. She also said the language that says the agency uses the scientific approach is laughable. She requested that, as public servants, the commissioners would put into place measurable requirements for the contract.

Janet Wallet-Ortiz said she "feels outrage this morning at the reckless game being played out here with the wildlife services contract."

She cited two reasons: The latest contract allows for toxic, illegal M44s to be used "apparently at the whim of the wildlife services employee. Use of M-44s indiscriminately poison and kill a variety of wildlife who just happen to be in the area where it is used. This is immoral and not an example of healthy stewardship."

The second reason she cited was that the contract is economically reckless. "There are good questions about taxpayer dollars being spent in this contract when there have been obvious issues about lack of timely report, lack of detail in reports and several reasonable questions about how much money we are paying or overpaying to Wildlife Service and for what, exactly?"

She said she voted no confidence in the contract. "The wording regarding non-use of M44s and non-lethal removal methods must be restored. I also vote no confidence in my commissioner who does not stick to their guns by restoring the contract wording they previously agreed to. And a big no to the reckless waste of taxpayer dollars. You would think after eight years of taxpayers' pointing out the problems with Wildlife Services the Commission would examine its deficiencies and rectify it by holding Wildlife Services accountable."

Carol Ann Fugagli said it was her least favorite time of year when they must discuss the Wildlife Services contract. She said she spent time online reading about APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), of which Wildlife Services is a branch. "One theme that kept rising to the surface is the absurdity of it all. Right now globally we are in the middle of a mass extinction event. We are on track to irreversible planetary change. We are on a slide into a hothouse Earth, which makes human existence questionable. Our planet is in crisis, yet we continue to kill wildlife at a rapid rate."

She noted that humans comprise 34 percent of the entire biomass of the Earth, cattle 35 percent, other animal life and pets 27 percent, with the remaining 4 percent being wild animals. She said "we need a paradigm shift in the way we think and the way we solve problems.  We can focus on two methods - non-lethal methods and human responsibility through education."

Fugagli continued that on the APHIS website the mission is to solve problems to allow human and wildlife to coexist. She said she would like to see education to people on how to make their yards unappealing to wildlife.

"In all of this, one thing is certain," she said. "Temperatures will continue to increase year after year. This is the coolest summer we will experience in our lifetime. And as the temperatures increase, we will see a growing number of wildlife encounters as they roam outside their normal range looking for food due to the dry conditions in the forest. We continue to ignore climate change. With increased encounters, it means we need to make value changes in our lives. Life doesn't come without risk. Yet we are trying to alleviate all risk at a cost to our wildlife. This needs to stop. We need to understand that our property  may be damaged by a woodpecker. Our property may be damaged by wildlife. It's a responsibility and risk we need to take and be prepared for."

Fugagli said if the millions of dollar APHIS spends on killing wildlife were put to use improving wildlife habitat, it would benefit the wildlife and make it possible for future generations to live adjacent to wildlife. 

She cautioned using the broad language on how the money is spent and especially being able to transfer money between categories. If more than 10 percent needs to be transferred, the vendors should provide written permission.

"I know people will roll their eyes when I speak of the state of our climate," Fugagli said. "But it is the truth, and we must be prepared to face the truth, so we can make meaningful changes in the way we think and the way we act."

The next speaker was Christine Hess of White Signal. She read from a prepared statement. "I'm coming before you again with a plea for our incredible wildlife in New Mexico and Grant County. There needs to be respect for this wildlife. They have just as much right to life as we do. They are amazing as they live their life in these mountains and semi-desert."

She said it was a gift to be hiking and exploring and perhaps being able to watch them in their "quiet wildlife ways. This life is obviously not respected, appreciated and admired how it should be. There are those in Grant County who need a different attitude on what has the right to roam on this land. It is absolutely barbaric that you are considering these M44s and foothold traps. For shame, if this new contract is passed."

Hess questioned why it is illegal in New Mexico to use these methods on public land and yet it remains in the contract. "They should also be banned on private lands as well. We taxpayers shouldn't have to support such cruel and illegal practices. There are ranchers who let their cattle run free on too much public land. They are encroaching on the resources, water, trees and fauna causing terrible damage. How much does a rancher pay to encroach on our public land. The rancher lets them fend for themselves and the wildlife is supposed to cause no harm? It may not be too long before we hear the screaming of hungry and thirsty cattle again non-stop for hours. It's very inhumane and it should not be allowed. Shame!" 

She continued; "Your contract calls for the humane capture and relocating of wildlife. How many have been captured and relocated instead of using poison and traps? The hours and pay paid out for the job need to be used appropriately. Let's also remember that if you are poisoning wildlife, how many others are you also poisoning in the wilderness?  There's been way too much free pass given to the ranchers, as well as reimbursement for the possible cattle loss due to wildlife. Let's start to have a different attitude and protect this land of enchantment. Let us make sure this contract holds the person providing the services accountable for using humane and legal practices. Please remove the illegal M44s and foothold traps." 

"Also," she noted, "not everyone lives in Silver City and they have distances to travel. Please allow them to attend county meetings via Zoom. And thank you to Glenn Griffin for your excellent concerns for Grant County. Know that your efforts are admired and appreciated, along with the energies of all those standing to protect this land of enchantment."

Griffin, too, read from a prepared statement. "This will be my eighth year speaking to the commission on Wildlife Services.  Together, we had made progress in banning M44s, removing traps and requiring non-lethal relocation as a first response. However, we could never make any progress on the location of services listed, of non-lethal methods, such as fladry and range riders. Those of us speaking have solutions to commission problems, whether it is cleaning up the private dumps that catch fire or leak hazardous material into our groundwater or the scam that Wildlife Services is today."

He continued by noting Wildlife Services rewrote the contracts again into a new contract keeping M44s, which are banned on public lands in New Mexico, including in the county. "They plan to use M44s on private lands where  Wildlife Services' USDA had forbidden the agency from distributing or deploying them."

Griffin said the contract under consideration gives itself a pay increase from $86,000 to $92,000 for a one-third full-time equivalent, which would be full-time pay of $276,000 a year "to continue to use the cruel, inhumane, indiscriminate, illegal and banned M44s and foothold trapping. The secretive and rogue agency's contract continues their 10-plus year long war on our wildlife."

He requested the commissioners restore the contract back to the the wording the Commission had agreed to last year. "Please rewrite the contract and lower the pay."

Griffin alleged the pay was effectively $324 per hour for the past quarter. "That is obscene. The proposed contract bills out at $147 per hour if the 624 hours are actually worked. The agent's boss says he forgot to include driving time and maintenance to the 66 hours reported last quarter"

Griffin called that double-dipping as $19,111 is already in the contract for those items. 

"We are property owners," Griffin continued. "We are the tax-paying public and our tax dollars are going to an exclusive 2 to 3 percent of Grant County residents, a special interest group that cannot even pay its 30 percent match required under the contract. Taxpayers are paying a second time by having county general funds taken out to subsidize the ranchers' portion. This is a welfare handout that was never approved in public or voted on in a public meeting, just done to help out the cattle industry. Our state constitution's anti-donation clause forbids our county government from making donations to individual or business ranches.

"Commissioners, get rid of the M44s and foothold traps and demand greater transparency and financial responsibility in Wildlife Services' proposed contracts or let the contract expire on June 30, as was the law when you illegally renewed the 222 contract on Sept. 22, 2022. Wildlife Services had proven they cannot follow the law."

He also asked for more transparency from Wildlife Services, but also with the Commission.

Griffin also requested that the meetings allow discussion on agenda items using Zoom, as Luna County does.

Barbara Bush, who thanked everyone for all they do, as "I know it's not an easy job," identified herself as a candidate for District 4 commissioner. "Although I am concerned about the M44s and the traps, I'm more concerned about the transparency and accountability, not just of this contract, but of all contracts. I'm wondering if there might be a separate document that lists what is the accountability in writing? And if there is, why is not being upheld, because it's not coming up on quarterly reports? If there's not such a document, why not? It seems to me we owe it to our taxpayers that we need such a document to show they are transparent in their actions, they're earning their money and being accountable to the taxpayers."

The final speaker in public input was Art Ratcliff, who said he lived in District 4. "I'm here on behalf of an endangered species. The entire Sonoran pronghorn subspecies is listed as endangered by the Forest Service. I reside in an area between national forest and private ranches, BLM land and state trust land. There are antelope that graze on all three of these type of properties, with the AT Cross Ranch being the largest. They migrate between intersectional properties between highway 90 and highway 180 and are seen regularly in all three areas. M44s and leghold traps are obviously compromising to preserving endangered wildlife.  These devices are indiscriminate in what they decimate including endangered species and are hazards to their survival. This is not best practice and probably illegal as well."

At the end of public comment, the commissioners addressed the single item on the special meeting agenda in approving the Primary Election canvass results. 

No commissioner had reports at that time.

They closed out the special meeting. 

The next article will begin the work session.