In Storm's Aftermath, Cow Roundups in Southeast Texas
Cows that were displaced by Hurricane Ike were herded along the Bolivar Peninsula last week, as cowboys tried to get the animals to fresh water. More Photos >
LA BELLE, Tex. — Two weeks after Hurricane Ike blew through Southeast Texas, cowboys on horseback and in helicopters are still trying to round up thousands of head of displaced cattle.
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The storm's surge carried cows up to 20 miles from their pastures in coastal Jefferson and Chambers Counties. Dead cows can be seen rotting in the forks of trees, and lone calves wander looking for their mothers amid overturned tractors and grain silos crushed like tin cans.
"We're still hearing about Katrina victims, but no one seems to know about this," said Mike Latta, a rancher and rice farmer in this agricultural community about 10 miles from the Gulf Coast. "It's total devastation."
Mr. Latta said he had so far recovered only 15 cows from his herd of 400 and holds out little hope of finding the rest, even as rescue efforts continue. Thus far, about 10,000 of the estimated 25,000 missing cows in the region have been found alive.
Explaining how any survived the powerful surge with waves reported over 15 feet, Hollis Gilfillian, a rancher in nearby Winnie, Tex., said that "cows are surprisingly buoyant" thanks to their four air-filled stomachs. Mr. Gilfillian said he was able to recover half of his 350 head because "they sort of floated like boats."
Displaced and severely dehydrated cows roaming the debris- and seaweed-strewn landscape have been herded into fenced pastures north of where the storm surge ended. They are marked with brands from the scores of ranches in the area and need to be sorted so they can be returned to their owners.
It is easy to tell where the storm surge stopped because the saltwater-burnt vegetation suddenly gives way to green, and fences reappear.
"There are no fences anymore for about 20 miles inland from the coast," said Bill Hyman, executive director of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas. The rushing water balled up barbed wire fencing into what looks like metal tumbleweeds.
In an effort called Operation No Fences, Mr. Hyman's organization and the Texas Department of Agriculture, as well as the state's AgriLife Extension Service, have been working to get hay and water to lost cattle and to help owners reclaim their animals.
Many roads remain closed in the area not because they are impassable but because roaming cattle pose a threat to motorists. Bales of hay and troughs of water have been placed on some highways to lure dehydrated and starving cattle out of the now-swampy countryside. The water troughs are replenished several times a day by fire department pumper trucks.
"A cow will drink something like 20 to 40 gallons of water per day," Mr. Hyman said.
Volunteers — many of them ranchers from other parts of Texas — have been spending long days searching for stranded animals. "Everyone is pitching in," said Chuck Kiker, who is helping with the recovery effort. Mr. Kiker's ranch, farther north in Fannett, Tex., was spared.
Search parties on horseback have been riding in near 90-degree heat, slogging through mud and clouds of mosquitoes. They have also had to contend with snakes and alligators left behind when the stormwaters receded. The state hired a helicopter on Wednesday to help drive cattle to safer areas.
Harold Clubb from Hamshire, Tex., surveyed 250 of his cows so far rescued out of a herd that numbered 2,700 before the storm. Haunted looking from fright and dehydration, some of the animals will be shipped to pastures in North Texas, Mr. Clubb said, and others will go to slaughterhouses if he can get them healthy enough for sale.
Saltwater destroyed all the grass on his 15,000 acres scattered throughout Jefferson County. He estimated it could take as long as two years before his property will again be suitable for grazing.
"I'm 76 years old," Mr. Clubb said, shaking his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do."
Most ranchers do not have insurance to cover their losses. Mr. Latta said his insurance company withdrew his coverage for rising water and hurricanes in March.
"I looked at some other coverage, but they said they wouldn't pay if you don't get a picture of the dead bodies," Mr. Latta said. "You can't do that if you can't even find the animal or it is so decomposed that you can't tell it's yours."
State officials have been working with members of Congress to write an emergency appropriations bill to help affected ranchers. "We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars of damage," said Todd Staples, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture. "You can't imagine the destruction until you see it."
Mr. Staples said the most urgent need now is for haulers to take the cattle to pastures where they can graze and drink fresh water. "Everything here is contaminated with saltwater," he said. "And fences and barns have just been obliterated."
The federal Natural Resources Conservation Service is working with state animal welfare and agriculture agencies to mount efforts to dispose of the thousands of decaying carcasses in the area. Mr. Staples said they would begin burning the animals in trenches this weekend.
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