ROMA — The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission is seeking the public’s input on whether to continue a decades-old practice of allowing cattle to graze on federally owned lands in the flood plain of Falcon International Dam.
Ranchers who owned land prior to the dam’s construction in 1953 have been allowed to continue grazing livestock in the floodplain that was subsequently created north of the dam.
The federal government allotted so-called “grazing leases” in the area behind the dam that would become flooded in the event the reservoir ever reached full capacity. When the reservoir is below capacity, those lands are exposed and usable.
“The grazing leases that are in place are on the condemned lands — the lands that were under the 307 taking line along Falcon Reservoir,” explained Eric Webb, with Vernadero Group Inc., which has been contracted by the IBWC to formally study the issue.
To that end, the Vernadero Group and members of the IBWC were on hand at the Roma Community Center on Thursday evening to hold a public comment session for landowners and other stakeholders interested in the grazing lease program.
The grazing leases have been allowed to continue largely unchanged since the 1960s, according to a fact sheet provided by the IBWC.
Now, the commission wants to know how the leases have been affecting the federally owned lands over the past few decades, and whether the grazing program needs to be changed. Finding answers to those questions is part of the IBWC’s duties under federal law.
“They are preparing an environmental assessment as part of their compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act to … potentially implement different management tools for their lands,” Webb said.
The area in question stretches from the Webb-Zapata County line south of Laredo, down to the dam itself in Starr County.
“There are about 159 grazing leases and so the concern is how they’re being managed,” Webb said. “And IBWC would like to have more tools to manage those grazing leases. So, we’re preparing an environmental assessment for that purpose.”
Of the original 159 leases, some 117 remain active today representing more than 22,200 acres of land.
Use of the land doesn’t come for free.
When the grazing lease program began in 1956, ranchers paid a $25 annual fee, plus 5 cents for every acre over 500 acres, for the right to graze their cattle.
Those fees were amended a decade later — in 1966 — to 20 cents per acre per year, with a minimum rental charge of $7.50 per year.
Those rates have remained unchanged since.
In total, the IBWC collects just over $17,000 in rental fees on the 22,000 acres of land.
Along the way, IBWC has lost access to vast swathes of the land — which it owns — due to ranchers installing locked gates, or because some leases are not accessible from public roads.
“(A) site assessment in August 2022 of select leases determined that locked gates limited USIBWC’s ability to access grazing leases,” the fact sheet states.
That lack of access has, in turn, made it difficult for the commission to ensure the leases remain in compliance with the program.
The IBWC also has concerns over the growth of “woody vegetation” in lands that have remained above water for so long due to an extended drought period. The reservoir hasn’t been at full capacity since 2011.
Then there’s the concern over culturally sensitive sites located within the condemned lands.
The original Zapata townsite, for instance, lies within the footprint of the reservoir.
So, too, do other historical and prehistoric sites, including potentially Indigenous sites — some of which are known by the government.
“Overall, the federal government’s responsibility under the National Historic Preservation Act is not to disturb those resources,” Webb said.
The IBWC is considering seven potential alternatives to its management of the graze lease program.
The first is to maintain the status quo by changing nothing at all.
Other alternatives include:
>> Terminating all leases and ending the program entirely.
>> Charging a fair market rate for continued grazing access to the land.
>> Modify the leases to allow hunting.
>> Terminate any lease that is not accessible from a public road.
>> Negotiate access easements with landowners that would allow IBWC to access lands that are currently inaccessible by public road.
>> Amend leases to allow for prescribed burns that would help mitigate vegetation overgrowth.
Some of the alternatives are land management methods that are already in use by other federal agencies.
For instance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts similar prescribed burns at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Cameron County.
Public hunts that are awarded via a lottery system also take place on the refuge’s land.
And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security frequently uses an access easement process to maintain access to privately owned riverside properties for the purpose of border enforcement.
Thursday’s public comment session in Roma was one of three the IBWC hosted last week to seek comment from current lease holders, as well as anyone interested in the program. The other two were held in Laredo and Zapata.
Jaime Garza, 78. whose wife owns land within the grazing lease area, said he used to graze cattle there until the cattle fever tick became too onerous a stressor on their small herd of 20-25 cows.
He and his family remain interested in the IBWC’s plans for the future, however.
“I need to know what’s going on because we still have that little place in the Charco Prieto area. I just wanted to see what was going on,” Garza said.
The IBWC will continue accepting public comments until March 3.
Here’s how to submit public comments:
BY EMAIL: Comments may be emailed to [email protected].
BY MAIL: Mailed comments may be sent to the following address:
U.S. Section, International Boundary and Water Commission
Attn: Mark Howe
4191 North Mesa St.
El Paso, TX 79902-1423
