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| Yup got a few friends that nicknamed me Rip. I have to smile when people say the Yellowstone Series wasn't true stuff. Well, it's all true and us in the west are dealing with it other than taking a few to the train station. Don't think I'm dealing with Indians? we have a county road that needed rebuilt, was called the narrows for three miles in lava rock mountains. Plan was for cowboys to give up grazing lands and punch a road on higher ground. A win for everyone, county road dept., Forest Service, taxpayers. Only group that would have lost was the cattlemen. However not one cattleman was crying because it meant a better for road for us to travel and keep open in winter months. Well, the tribes came in and protested it, we had funding ready to roll. Everyone backed off at tribal threats. Yet we have no tribal lands in our county, they said maybe their ancestors was buried there. So, road shouldn't be moved, it made no sense. As the questioned land for burial was what we wanted to abandon. So, cost overruns as job had to be rebid, raising it another 3 million.
I've personally dealt with overzealous Federal employees over the years. However, I've got to say current administrations is making tensions go away and we are working together as it should be. Dealing with everyone moving to the country to get out the crowed cities, buying their chunk of heaven. But now they have their pie in the sky. They want all cattle, equipment off the roads, don't want to fence their land. Want all county services they had in town, at the expense of landowners to pay the burden for extra services. Have to have full time fire and ambulance crews when we just had volunteer.
Fifteen years ago, a gas pipeline was pushed through our lands, it should have went on federal lands. But nope was easier to threaten us with eminent domain if we fought it because it was easier to threaten us than to fight environmentalists. Now they are back and wanting our lands for power generation with this gas. So, you either deal or state runs over you and ties you up. Next one is mineral exploration is knocking on my back door in the other county we run cattle on federal lands. Our cattle will get pushed off for the greater good of the public, because its public lands. Even though mining is required to lease the land as well. Then in my third county I run in we are hit with all the urban development. In 2034' Utah has the bid for Winter Olympics again. It's put pressure on all agriculture left there pricing us out of our family land been in family since 1880's. Same thing that hit ICC where he lives, all the secondary homes taking land and raising taxes.
The biggest threat to us is our water rights in both states. Water is owned by the state, but we have first rights to it. Until the governor comes wanting it for the greater good of the public. The fight has started it's not going away. But it became real to me a month ago when investors came knocking on the door and told me point blank, we can do this the hard way or the easy way to get your land. Don't think there hasn't been lots of sleepless nights in our family and other families around me during the past month. It didn't make for an enjoyable holiday when developers are sending Christmas gifts to your house, and a map of your ranch is going to be sitting in front of governor in a few weeks.
So yeah, it's real when sitting in a cottage in Montana a month ago and investors call me, my Beth was ready to rip the throat out of a person telling us he's taking our lands for his development. I had to pull my Beth off a realtor five years ago that came onto our lands while we harvested our crops off leased lands, that was to be willed to her upon the death of her aunt. Realtor tried to take our crop from out from under us before we could vacate the land. So yeah, people might think T.V. stuff is all made up, but its real life. We've just been able to experience a lot of it in the past twenty years.
When my wife and I took over running the two-family ranches 36 years ago, we never dreamed we would be fighting these battles. All we wanted to do was raise kids and ranch. | |
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Brazilian beef - "Last Bastion for Cheap Beef Fades..."
