In the west, it is fairly common for a rancher to have a few hundred acres. They rent pasture from private owners or buy grazing ‘rights’ from the government. Those grazing rights can cost hundreds of thousands, and the government reserves the right to reduce or end them without warning.
Nevada is around 85-90% owned by the government. Thus most ranchers there have to deal with the feds for grazing.
A friend of mine has a couple thousand sheep and several hundred head of cattle. He juggles grazing times and amounts all the time. He leases land in 3 states and uses grazing on BLM land as well. He grows hay on his land to feed his animals for brief periods between his rentals.
So it is a usual and typical business expense for ranchers to “pay a fee for grazing rights”.
For some reason, this rancher decided he was extra special, and didn’t have to pay for his cattle to feed on land he does not own....
It seems the feds were extraordinarily patient with him, and his free ride is now, finally over.
I am known to dislike the feds, but as to this case....I equally dislike civilian theives...
Frankly I see the media focus on this ranch now, as a distraction against the recent media focus on another rancher in a different state, who is REALLY being abused by the feds.
After reading further information gained from other resources, I find that the Feds drastically changed the “rules” in the early 1990s, and appear to have ran a concerted effort to shut down ranchers and grazing rights to protect a turtle that may or may not have been artificially introduced into the area.
So the rancher has been fighting the Feds in Federal courts, over an outrageous Federal agency abuse for two decades.
Now I know what I was missing from this story.
The full facts and the real truth.
Yes, I should have known better.