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When Kit Laney answered a knock on his door Saturday, law enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service handed him a piece of paper announcing his Diamond Bar Ranch in southwest New Mexico would be shut down Wednesday and his 300 head of cattle grazing there would be removed – one way or the other. Other Forest Service officials were busy nailing similar notices on fence posts along the highway and informing neighbors that after Feb. 11, they should not attempt to enter the Diamond Bar property. Laney was not surprised. He knew someday there would be an on-the-ground confrontation...

A southern New Mexico rancher pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting or resisting a federal officer and obstruction of a court order. Kit Laney, 43, was arrested March 14 during a roundup of cattle belonging to him and his ex-wife, Sherry Farr, on the Gila National Forest. Authorities said he threatened to trample federal officers with his horse and tried to release some of the impounded livestock. Laney and Farr did not have a permit to graze the cattle. Laney had been charged in federal court with eight counts including assault with a deadly weapon, assault on federal officers and obstruction...

DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY Federal judge keeps Laney from returning home Jun 10, 2004, 19:52 A federal judge still will not let Kit Laney return home. The rancher "can't go to Catron County," Judge John Conway's administrative assistant told the Daily Press. Laney, since his April 8 release from jail, has been under court order to steer clear of his Diamond Bar Ranch in the Gila National Forest. Conway last week continued Laney's case until Aug. 10 in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. The rancher was arrested March 14 on five counts of assault on federal officers and three counts...

DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY On June 1st, the US Attorney filed a motion with the court seeking $229,667.34 in damages against Kit and Sherry Laney. The breakdown was as follows: Impoundment and Sales Costs..........$408,014.42, Unathorized Grazing Fees...............23,448.10, Credits (livestock sale and..............(200,850.50), (deceased cattle).........................(994.68), Net Damages as of 5/31/04............$229,667.34

Just to bring all interested parties up to date about what's going on, here's the latest. The Michael Martin Murphey concert held at the Civic Center in T or C, NM, on Saturday, May 22, was a huge success. About $8,000 was raised for the Laney Legal Fund from the event. Michael's special guest was Loren "Doc" Mayer, a cowboy poet, educator and rancher from the Roy, NM area. Michael did a solo performance otherwise, so that more of the monies collected could go to the fund. The audience of about 800 people, were a very enthusiastic and supportive group...

LAS CRUCES— It took three tries, but embattled Catron County rancher Kit Laney on Tuesday finally won release from jail pending his trial on federal assault and obstruction of justice charges. Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway granted a defense motion to release Laney into the custody of Otero Mesa rancher Bob Jones, but it won't happen until next week when a court-ordered roundup of the rancher's cattle will be roughly 95 percent complete. Jones' ranch is more than a five-hour drive east of the Diamond Bar allotment in the Gila National Forest. Laney will be released at...

Sunday, March 14, 2004 Regrettable Roundup By Rene Romo Journal Staff Writer GILA NATIONAL FOREST— Millions of dollars in debt, his cattle in the process of being impounded by the U.S. Forest Service, rancher Kit Laney said Friday his fight to establish his grazing rights in the national forest is not yet over. "We got two options. We fight, or we walk off with nothing," said the 43-year-old Laney, a battered black hat on his head as he stood near his home in Black Canyon on a chilly Friday afternoon with his wife, Sherry, 42. "Every day they are violating...