Liberty Belle
Well-known member
Does this jerk tick any of the rest of you off as bad as he does me?
ND Ag Groups Oppose Historical Ranch Sale
A few years back, a friend from Minnesota offered an observation.
"Nearly all of the farmers and ranchers I've known over the years are sensible, decent folks," he said in an email. "So why is it that all of the groups that purport to represent them have such a big chip on their shoulders?"
A sage observation and one that applies well to the opposition Ken and Norma Eberts have run into in their efforts to sell their ranch for the past four years to sell their ranch to the federal government. The significance of their ranch, which they own in partnership with Ken's brothers, Dennis and Allen, is near the site of one of former President Teddy Roosevelt two North Dakota Badlands ranches. In fact, TR's cattle grazed on the land the Ebert's are trying to sell. The old Roughrider certainly wasn't anti-ranching, after all, he helped form North Dakota's first grazing association. He spent more than three years there in the 1880's.
That makes this a historically significant ranch, one worth preserving as it is for Americans. And just as Roosevelt was pro-rancher, he was also very much in favor of public land, something many of today's ranchers seem to be opposed to, a strange turn of events since many of them rely on the low cost grazing that's priced at about ten percent of what comparable private land fetches for grazing rental.
North Dakota property rights radicals such as the Farm Bureau have been in the thick of the fight, along with county officials and some politicians, to prevent the sale. It is ironic that those who trumpet the "property rights" mantra the loudest seem willing to violate the rights of the Ken and Norma Eberts by trying to prevent them from selling their ranch to a willing seller---the federal government.
The land they want to sell---5,150 acres---is gorgeous land amid the scenic splendor of hills, buttes and the Little Missouri River, the land that Roosevelt loved. The Ebert's seem mindful of that and say they want to preserve the land, allowing grazing, hunting and oil exploration, just as it is now.
However, their effort has pitted them against many of their neighbors, who seem unmindful of the location of North Dakota's richest tourism area. Nearby Medora hosts all sorts of tourism events, much of them wrapped around the memory of Teddy Roosevelt. Even golfers travel there to play one of America's prettiest and most challenging golf courses, aptly named, "Bully Pulpit."
Currently, a US Senate Appropriations Sub Committee is considering legislation that would allow the US Forest Service to start the land acquisition by spending $1.45 million toward the purchase.
However, they are running into stiff opposition from the property rights crowd, most of whom already suck off the nipple of the Mother federal government with their cheap grazing leases.
They say they want no expansion of federal land in western North Dakota, which is home to the 1.1 million acre Little Missouri National Grasslands. These ranchers make up one of the most politically powerful ranching groups in America, and they are accustomed to having their way. They have no qualms about pounding on the desks of Governors, Congressmen and US Senators.
Dorgan has already (likely on behalf of the ranchers) gotten the Forest Service to agree to several conditions. They would sell other property so there is no increase of federal land, a move most of the public would likely oppose. The reason I believe Dorgan greased their wheels is that he also persuaded the Forest Service to withdraw new grazing regulations the ranchers opposed. Truth is, they'd oppose anything dealing with grazing except for the rate decrease they received this year---which cut their rates to $1.86 per cow-calf-per-month---while cattle prices hit record highs.
However, the Ebert's want to retire and they say their ranch is worth $3.5 million, and offered it first to the State of North Dakota. The legislature rejected it. Actually, when one considers the scenic and historical values of the ranch, it's likely worth a lot more than they are asking.
But they are getting a considerable amount of support from outside North Dakota; conservation groups such as the Boone & Crockett Club and the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. And that support is growing as more and more conservation organizations join the bandwagon.
And that's what rankles the local ranchers like Jim Arthaud, who also serves as the Billings County Commission Chairman. Like most western counties, ranchers dominate county commissions because they like the power and want to keep it.
Arthaud tries to characterize such conservation groups as "East Coast environmentalists who have more clout than the people who live on the land."
Hardly. Many Dakotans belong to those conservation groups, as well as mainstream rod and gun clubs that are local, but affiliated with groups such as the National Wildlife Federation.
The ranchers might be facing a losing battle, at least we hope so.
And it's one they might be foolish for getting into, because the more taxpayers know about their cheap grazing rates, and the fact that the American cowboy image is a part of long-gone history, the more likely they'll be getting into additional losing battles in the future.
Look at the list of the North Dakota ag groups standing in line to oppose the sale.
They include the radical and extreme Landowners Association of North Dakota, the Farm Bureau, the North Dakota Farmer's Union, and Stockman's Association. They've carried the property rights banner all along but don't seem to think the Ebert's should have those rights.
But they have agreed to back Dorgan's proposal provided guarantees are included that involve no net increase in federal land in North Dakota. Gov. John Hoeven, to his political good sense, said he also supports the Forest Service effort under Dorgan's agreement.
The conservation groups will win this battle, but my home state will likely get a black eye from the efforts of a very, very loud vocal minority that always wants things their own way.
An Eastern conservation writer, Ted Williams, once wrote about radical property rights Wise Use Movement groups in Nevada, noting, "Some of the world's ugliest people live in some of the most beautiful places." He wasn't talking about their physical appearance---it was their "me first" attitude. He could have just as well used it to describe some of the "suck off of the federal nipple" ranchers in western North Dakota.
I love North Dakota. I was born there and lived there the first 21 years of my life. I return each year to hunt and fish, and frequently tout its outdoor resources to my readers, listeners and television viewers. I've hunted and fished there for the last 35 consecutive years. And even though it is legal to hunt on land that isn't posted in North Dakota, I always ask permission. In Lord knows how many trips there, I've been refused permission just four times.
Just four times.
In three of the cases, the landowner had already promised someone else they could hunt there on that day. Only one gave me a flat-out "No."
Like my Minnesota friend said, most farmers and ranchers are really nice, decent people, but their leaders are out of touch. That seems to be the case in western North Dakota.
February 15, 2006
http://www.tonydean.com/issues2.html?sectionid=7257
ND Ag Groups Oppose Historical Ranch Sale
A few years back, a friend from Minnesota offered an observation.
"Nearly all of the farmers and ranchers I've known over the years are sensible, decent folks," he said in an email. "So why is it that all of the groups that purport to represent them have such a big chip on their shoulders?"
A sage observation and one that applies well to the opposition Ken and Norma Eberts have run into in their efforts to sell their ranch for the past four years to sell their ranch to the federal government. The significance of their ranch, which they own in partnership with Ken's brothers, Dennis and Allen, is near the site of one of former President Teddy Roosevelt two North Dakota Badlands ranches. In fact, TR's cattle grazed on the land the Ebert's are trying to sell. The old Roughrider certainly wasn't anti-ranching, after all, he helped form North Dakota's first grazing association. He spent more than three years there in the 1880's.
That makes this a historically significant ranch, one worth preserving as it is for Americans. And just as Roosevelt was pro-rancher, he was also very much in favor of public land, something many of today's ranchers seem to be opposed to, a strange turn of events since many of them rely on the low cost grazing that's priced at about ten percent of what comparable private land fetches for grazing rental.
North Dakota property rights radicals such as the Farm Bureau have been in the thick of the fight, along with county officials and some politicians, to prevent the sale. It is ironic that those who trumpet the "property rights" mantra the loudest seem willing to violate the rights of the Ken and Norma Eberts by trying to prevent them from selling their ranch to a willing seller---the federal government.
The land they want to sell---5,150 acres---is gorgeous land amid the scenic splendor of hills, buttes and the Little Missouri River, the land that Roosevelt loved. The Ebert's seem mindful of that and say they want to preserve the land, allowing grazing, hunting and oil exploration, just as it is now.
However, their effort has pitted them against many of their neighbors, who seem unmindful of the location of North Dakota's richest tourism area. Nearby Medora hosts all sorts of tourism events, much of them wrapped around the memory of Teddy Roosevelt. Even golfers travel there to play one of America's prettiest and most challenging golf courses, aptly named, "Bully Pulpit."
Currently, a US Senate Appropriations Sub Committee is considering legislation that would allow the US Forest Service to start the land acquisition by spending $1.45 million toward the purchase.
However, they are running into stiff opposition from the property rights crowd, most of whom already suck off the nipple of the Mother federal government with their cheap grazing leases.
They say they want no expansion of federal land in western North Dakota, which is home to the 1.1 million acre Little Missouri National Grasslands. These ranchers make up one of the most politically powerful ranching groups in America, and they are accustomed to having their way. They have no qualms about pounding on the desks of Governors, Congressmen and US Senators.
Dorgan has already (likely on behalf of the ranchers) gotten the Forest Service to agree to several conditions. They would sell other property so there is no increase of federal land, a move most of the public would likely oppose. The reason I believe Dorgan greased their wheels is that he also persuaded the Forest Service to withdraw new grazing regulations the ranchers opposed. Truth is, they'd oppose anything dealing with grazing except for the rate decrease they received this year---which cut their rates to $1.86 per cow-calf-per-month---while cattle prices hit record highs.
However, the Ebert's want to retire and they say their ranch is worth $3.5 million, and offered it first to the State of North Dakota. The legislature rejected it. Actually, when one considers the scenic and historical values of the ranch, it's likely worth a lot more than they are asking.
But they are getting a considerable amount of support from outside North Dakota; conservation groups such as the Boone & Crockett Club and the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. And that support is growing as more and more conservation organizations join the bandwagon.
And that's what rankles the local ranchers like Jim Arthaud, who also serves as the Billings County Commission Chairman. Like most western counties, ranchers dominate county commissions because they like the power and want to keep it.
Arthaud tries to characterize such conservation groups as "East Coast environmentalists who have more clout than the people who live on the land."
Hardly. Many Dakotans belong to those conservation groups, as well as mainstream rod and gun clubs that are local, but affiliated with groups such as the National Wildlife Federation.
The ranchers might be facing a losing battle, at least we hope so.
And it's one they might be foolish for getting into, because the more taxpayers know about their cheap grazing rates, and the fact that the American cowboy image is a part of long-gone history, the more likely they'll be getting into additional losing battles in the future.
Look at the list of the North Dakota ag groups standing in line to oppose the sale.
They include the radical and extreme Landowners Association of North Dakota, the Farm Bureau, the North Dakota Farmer's Union, and Stockman's Association. They've carried the property rights banner all along but don't seem to think the Ebert's should have those rights.
But they have agreed to back Dorgan's proposal provided guarantees are included that involve no net increase in federal land in North Dakota. Gov. John Hoeven, to his political good sense, said he also supports the Forest Service effort under Dorgan's agreement.
The conservation groups will win this battle, but my home state will likely get a black eye from the efforts of a very, very loud vocal minority that always wants things their own way.
An Eastern conservation writer, Ted Williams, once wrote about radical property rights Wise Use Movement groups in Nevada, noting, "Some of the world's ugliest people live in some of the most beautiful places." He wasn't talking about their physical appearance---it was their "me first" attitude. He could have just as well used it to describe some of the "suck off of the federal nipple" ranchers in western North Dakota.
I love North Dakota. I was born there and lived there the first 21 years of my life. I return each year to hunt and fish, and frequently tout its outdoor resources to my readers, listeners and television viewers. I've hunted and fished there for the last 35 consecutive years. And even though it is legal to hunt on land that isn't posted in North Dakota, I always ask permission. In Lord knows how many trips there, I've been refused permission just four times.
Just four times.
In three of the cases, the landowner had already promised someone else they could hunt there on that day. Only one gave me a flat-out "No."
Like my Minnesota friend said, most farmers and ranchers are really nice, decent people, but their leaders are out of touch. That seems to be the case in western North Dakota.
February 15, 2006
http://www.tonydean.com/issues2.html?sectionid=7257