Ever wonder what the Forest Service does in the off season? This today from our
public affairs officer, a headline he never thought he'd see:
Forest Service may blow up frozen cows in cabin
By STEVEN K. PAULSON
Associated Press
BRIAN PORTER / AP
Conundrum Creek Cabin, in the White River National Forest, near Aspen, Colo.,
where as many as six cows froze to death.
DENVER — It may take explosives to dislodge a group of cows that wandered into
an old ranger cabin high in the Rocky Mountains, then died and froze solid when
they couldn't get out.
The carcasses were discovered by two Air Force Academy cadets when they
snow-shoed up to the cabin in late March. Rangers believe the animals sought
shelter during a snowstorm and got stuck and weren't smart enough to find their
way out.
The cabin is located near the Conundrum Hot Springs, a nine-mile hike from the
Aspen area in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area.
Michael Carroll, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society in Colorado, said
cattle are often allowed to wander on federal wilderness lands as long as
ranchers get a permit from the Forest Service, and sometimes the animals get
separated from the herd.
The Forest Service said Tuesday the animals came from a herd of 29 cows that
went missing last fall from the nearby Gunnison National Forest where the
rancher had a permit. An aerial search failed to turn up any sign of the
animals.
Forest Service spokesman Brian Porter said rangers saw about six cows inside
the cabin, and several dead cows lying around the building.
"There is a lot of snow, and it's hard to determine how many cows are there,"
Porter said.
U.S. Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin said Tuesday they need to decide
quickly how to get rid of the carcasses.
"Obviously, time is of the essence because we don't want them defrosting,"
Segin said.
Segin said officials are concerned about water contamination in the nearby hot
springs if the cows start decomposing during the thaw.
The options: use explosives to break up the cows, burn down the cabin, or using
a helicopters or trucks to haul out the carcasses.
But Segin said using helicopters is too expensive and rangers are worried about
using trucks in a wilderness area, where the government bars permanent
improvements and tries to preserve the natural habitat.
Carroll praised the Forest Service for trying to remove the animals while doing
the least damage. He said burning down the cabin or packing out the carcasses
are probably the best solutions.
"They need to use the minimal tool to get the job done. They don't want to
leave the land scarred," he said.
Segin said the Forest Service occasionally uses explosives to destroy carcasses
of animals that can't be retrieved.
"We've used them as a means of disposal to remove dead horses, elk and other
animals in areas where it's impossible to get them out," he said.
