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A cattle industry lawsuit challenging the removal of unauthorized cattle from the Gila Wilderness was dismissed Wednesday by a federal appeals court. Both sides in the dispute found some vindication in the outcome. 

The Gila is a point of pride 鈥� it became the first designated wilderness area in the U.S. in 1924. It comprises 559,688 acres spanning Grant and Catron counties in southern New Mexico and sits within the Gila National Forest.

The killing of cattle without brands, tags or documented ownership by sharpshooters in helicopters in 2022 and 2023 drew lawsuits by the New Mexico Cattle Growers鈥� Association and area ranchers. They argued the practice was unlawful and cruel, degraded the environment and risked killing branded cattle.

"There's no way that from a helicopter up in the sky they're going to know whether these cattle are branded or not," New Mexico Cattle Grower's Association President Tom Patterson told the Journal on Thursday. 

At the end of 2023, the agency said the removals were complete. The plaintiffs sought a permanent federal injunction against aerial shootings and appealed after New Mexico鈥檚 federal district court dismissed their claims in 2025.

The cattle had been a problem since a local rancher with a grazing permit went bankrupt in the 1970s and abandoned hundreds of head in the Gila National Forest, where they roamed and multiplied. The result was overgrazing, damage to water resources and threats to endangered species as well as hikers, according to the Forest Service as well as some conservation groups.

The Forest Service 鈥� as well as the Center for Biological Diversity, which intervened in the case 鈥� argued the appeal was moot because the agency had rescinded its authorization for lethal removal, since no more feral cattle had been detected.

The Cattle Growers鈥� Association countered that, if the presence of additional feral cattle were confirmed in the future, the agency could authorize overhead snipers again, and it pressed for a ruling barring the practice.

Wednesday's opinion by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, written by Judge Timothy Tymkovich, found that the Forest Service鈥檚 actions in rescinding the authorization of aerial shooting and directing the agency to resume nonlethal impoundment did make the appeal moot; but it also vacated a lower court judgment and ordered it to dismiss the case, clearing a path for the Cattle Growers and ranchers to relitigate if the issue resurfaces.

鈥淭he Forest Service was right to remove feral cattle from the Gila Wilderness and end decades of damage to this fragile endangered species habitat. I鈥檓 pleased the appeals court agreed,鈥� Center for Biological Diversity co-founder Todd Schulke said in a written statement. 鈥淭he livestock industry鈥檚 sham lawsuit was a waste of time and money. With cows gone these wild streamside habitats are finally recovering, which is wonderful news for endangered species.鈥�

Patterson said the court fight was worthwhile, noting that the circuit court's ruling repeatedly stated that the chances of the Forest Service resorting to lethal removal via sniper were slim. 

"It would have been nice to have a judicial order that says they don't have any authority to do this," he said. "The reality right now, going forward across the West, is that the prospect of the Forest Service slaughtering cattle from a helicopter with a sharpshooter is very remote, and that's what I would call a win." 

Algernon D'Ammassa is the Journal's southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.