Cattle Update: Arizona Cattleman Wins Libel Suit

Washington, D.C. (Jan. 26, 2005) – A Pima County jury has awarded Arizona rancher Jim Chilton $600,000 in a libel suit against the Tucson-based environmental group, Center for Biological Diversity. On Jan. 21, jurors in Pima County Superior Court voted 9-1 that the Center made “false, unfair, libelous and defamatory statements” regarding Chilton's management of his Forest Service grazing allotment.

Chilton, a fifth generation producer and member of the Public Lands Council (PLC) and National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), claimed the Center made false statements about him in a news advisory, and that the Center posted defaming photographs of his operation on its web site. The photos of Chilton’s grazing allotment showed barren patches of ground which the Center said illustrated damage done by grazing. Chilton's lawyer, armed with wide-angle photos taken at the same locations, argued that the surroundings were “worthy of a postcard, with oaks and mesquites dotting lush, rolling hills.”

“The Center for Biological Diversity tried to further its political agenda by attacking Jim Chilton and alleging that he was mismanaging his 21,500-acre Forest Service grazing allotment, when nothing could be further from the truth,“ says Jeff Eisenberg, NCBA director of federal lands and PLC executive director. “Ultimately, the goal of activist groups like these is to end grazing on public lands. We’re glad there are folks like Jim Chilton who won’t let that happen.”

Chilton has said he will donate some of the $100,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages to the Arizona Cattle Growers Association’s legal fund to be used in fights for “truth and responsibility for cattle grazing issues.”

NCBA and the Public Lands Council decry efforts by activist groups that try to portray grazing in a negative light. "Unfortunately, many of our members are forced to deal with this kind of harassment as they go about earning their livelihoods and building their communities,” says Eisenberg. “When environmental groups engage in these public fights, it does little to meet the mutual goal of conserving resources."

Eisenberg says this verdict sets an important precedent and will hopefully dissuade other activist groups from trying to libel ranchers in the future. “The jury's award is an important vindication for Jim’s position and for stockgrowers everywhere. PLC and NCBA congratulate Chilton for his important work in support of responsible management of our public lands. “

he will donate some of the $100,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages to the Arizona Cattle Growers Association’s legal fund to be used in fights for “truth and responsibility for cattle grazing issues.”

What a guy!

Arizona Cattle Grower's Association
The Arizona Cattle Growers' Association (ACGA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1904 to properly represent the ranchers of the state and to protect the cattle industry. It has grown to include more than 2,000 cow/calf producers, business associates, individual associates and friends of the industry from every county in Arizona.
ACGA offers member benefits such as group health insurance and workers' compensation insurance plans, discounts from local merchants and full-time representation in the legislative and executive branches of state and federal government. ACGA staff members monitor federal, state and county agency regulations and in recent years monitor court decisions that affect ranch families.
Due to the dozens of lawsuits filed in the past few years by activist organizations, ACGA has also established a litigation fund to defend ranching in both state and federal courts.
Please call (602) 267-1129 for ACGA membership information, or email Maria Cadena, mcadena@arizonabeef.org
A Primer to Legislative/Regulatory Websites USDA Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003
State Trust Land Reform Proposal Draft Maps for Incentive and Option Lands

Here's a recent ActionAlert from the BioNuts in Tucson:

Save the ESA! Post-election rider targets habitat

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Congressperson
Your Senators

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

California developers are pressuring members of Congress to place a rider on the upcoming Omnibus Appropriations Bill to fundamentally weaken the Endangered Species Act. The amendments would be the most significant changes to the ESA since 1982. Massive public policy changes should not be done through stealth riders. They should be subject to rigorous public review and debate. Please do not allow the rider to be attached or to be voted through on the Omnibus coattails.
RIDER 1. For almost 20 years, federal agencies have used a controversial Reagan-era regulation that undermines the recovery of endangered species by allowing the destruction and degradation of their critical habitats. In the past four years, three different federal appeals courts have ruled that the regulation is illegal. The most recent decision states: "This can not be right. If the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] follows its own regulation, then it is obligated to be indifferent to, if not to ignore, the recovery goal of critical habitat." The victory should issue in a new conservation era that focuses on recovery of endangered species, not merely keeping them alive in a continuous endangered state. Developers want to override the Endangered Species Act and the courts to undermine recovery, allowing critical habitats to be destroyed and wildlife populations to continue their slow spiral toward extinction.
RIDER 2. The rider also seeks to shield logging, development, mining and other large-scale plans from scientific review and reform -even when the plans are proven by scientists to be pushing imperiled plants and animals to extinction. The rider would thus amend the ESA to include the controversial "no surprises" policy created in the mid-1990s. Like the anti-critical habitat regulation, this plan was also struck down by the courts. Developers want the outdated policy made a permanent part of the ESA even though it has been thoroughly opposed by scientists and is currently being rewritten to include greater public review and to remove its most glaring flaws. The developers don't want to wait for public review; they don't want the flaws removed; they want the plan enshrined in its worst, most damaging form.
Please oppose these riders to the Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Riders take the public out of public policy. They shield controversial, damaging proposals from debate and examination. In this case, they would weaken the fundamental underpinnings of the Endangered Species Act: recovery, habitat protection, and good science. We need more recovery of endangered species not less. We need more protection of essential habitat areas, not less. And we need to change management plans in response to new scientific research, not blindly lock plans into place.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely, EnviroWhacko members of Center for Biological Insanity!
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http://actionnetwork.org/BIODIVERSITY/join.html?r=p1qxsP71aakHE
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