In the News

By Lynn Brezosky Environmental protections for wildlife at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge near the border in South Texas are also safeguarding one of the U.S. beef industry’s worst enemies: the cattle fever tick. Texas lawmakers appealed on behalf of the state’s ranchers to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for help containing the deadly pest in a Nov. 1 letter that sought assistance from the Trump administration, saying the Obama administration had not taken adequate steps against the spread of infestation. The fever tick carries bovine babesiosis, a blood disease that in the late 1800s nearly wiped out the U.S. cattle herd and caused other states to shun or restrict cattle from Texas. Once eradicated in all but a narrow zone along the U.S.-Mexico border, the tick has in recent years been found increasingly farther inland. The fever tick is spreading unchecked on the 98,000-acre coastal preserve, which attracts bird-watchers from around the world and is home to some of the last of the nation’s wild ocelots. It’s been problematic for tick control as it is a protected natural habitat that nearly touches Mexico, making it easy for tick-carrying wildlife such as nilgai, a nonnative antelope, to spread the tick from Mexico. It is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which falls under the U.S. Department of the Interior. “The Refuge is in the center of the tick infestations and (Fish and Wildlife Service) has not taken adequate steps to control its infestation of fever ticks on nilgai antelope and other wildlife,” according to a news release accompanying the letter by U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, and Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock, and backed by Texas’ entire congressional delegation. “The congressmen request that the FWS develop and execute a plan to combat the spread of the fever tick from Laguna Atascosa to bordering properties.” To read the complete story, click here to visit ExpressNews.com.