New Mexico Rancher Arrested--The Diamond Bar Saga Continues.......

http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2004/03/17/news/news04.txt ^

[Ranchwife]

Thanks for asking. A couple of funds have been set up to help with Kit's legal expenses. The bills are going to be tremendous, I'm sure. Our family will appreciate anything you can do....I have personally forwarded the information to hundreds of people, asking that they do the same. If we don't fight for our rights, no one will, and this has already gone way too far.....Thanks again!

Paragon Foundation Inc.
1200 N. White Sands Boulevard
Suite 110
Alamogordo, NM 88310
Office-(505) 434-8998
Fax-(505) 434-8992
Toll Free-877-847-3443
Please send donations to the Paragon Foundation earmarked for legal expenses. You will receive a letter giving you verification that the donation is tax deductible. Call the toll free number for credit card donations.

Another fund has been set up by the Gila Livestock Growers Assoc. It says to earmark your donation Laney assist. The address for those donations is:
Gila Livestock Growers Assoc.
PO Box 123
Winston, NM 87943

[Ditter]

I have read a little about these people & their problem but I don't understand. Did the Laneys refuse to pay their grazing leases or did the state refuse to accept their payment so they can take the land?

[Ranchwife]

Ditter, what actually happened was that after years of not being able to make improvements on the ranch, and being cut from 1188 head down to 300 head by the FS, basically their whole operation shut down, they took non-use for several years. When things calmed down, they tried to get their permit back for the 300 head they had been cut to. Wilderness District Ranger, Annette Chavez, denied their request, giving the reason that "we aren't considering stocking cattle on that allotment at this time". Three times they applied to get the permit back, and three times they were denied.
After doing extensive research into the matter, and finding that the Federal Government has no jurisdiction over the forest (the forest service was set up for 2 things: to provide a continous supply of timber for the people, and to provide a continous supply of water for the people, which they have failed miserably at accomplishing) and having traced the chain of title to the Diamond Bar Ranch proving that the country was used for the purpose of ranching back to dates preceeding the establishment of the Forest Reserve (pre-cursor to the forest service who has gone hog-wild in recent years, mainly due to pressure from radical environmental groups) and knowing that the water in New Mexico belongs to those who put it to beneficial use, aka ranchers for stockraising, and that the grazing rights are incident to the water rights, are justified in their actions.
It's a complicated deal, and Kit can explain it SO much better than I can, but the Federal Government has been paying the state "in lieu of taxes" on the property, a kinda "bribe" money? if that makes sense, as the government is not authorized to own anything in New Mexico except Post Offices and Military Installations. So, it's kinda a (pardon the expression) Mexican stand-off right now. Investigation is being done right now, to find out if the country is worth more in taxes from ranchers, or the "bribe" money from the Feds is going to be more. I'm pretty sure they'll go with whichever is the larger amount. As Curt Brummett says, Greed is a terrible thing......

[Ditter]

Thanks for the explaination. In my view, if the Laneys settled on the land before anyone else was there, it is *their* land. We are ranchers on the Gulf Coast of TX. Things are different in that we own ALL of our land & have the deed & pay the taxes. Water rights here means you have the right to drain the rainwater OFF your land. LOL!

[Cultural Jihad]

He who breaks the law is an "I-L-L-E-G-A-L" BTTT.

[Lurker]

Sounds like a pretty good description of the FS to me.

L

[Cultural Jihad]

Sounds like a pretty good description of ...

Well, in a self-govering society such as ours, the only descriptions that really count are those made in a court of law, unless one is burdened with the mindset of a Timothy McVeigh or a Theodore Kaczynski.