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<DIV>Great post, Steady! I'm sometimes a confrontational person, especially when
it comes to government, but have mellowed a bit as I get older.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Bob
"Trekker"<BR>Big Bend Desert Denizen, and...<BR>Naturalized Citizen - Republic
of Texas
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 11/5/2009 9:20:42 A.M. Central Standard Time,
rbelshee@hotmail.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Perhaps
some perspective would be useful. One approach is to ready oneself <BR>to
argue that the land is public and the ranchers do not have the right to
<BR>keep you off of their property. Another is to gain some understanding of
the <BR>ranchers' perspective.<BR><BR>Remember that the history of land
ownership in the West was that the <BR>government would grant you property if
you agreed to develop it. That starts <BR>with the Spanish Land Grants that
even predate the founding of the US (and <BR>are still recognizable on maps
because they do not have the familiar <BR>section/township grid pattern
established by the US). It was especially true <BR>when the US government
wanted to expand and populate the west. Land grants <BR>were the key to
getting settlers to move west. The deal was simple: promise <BR>to make
it productive land and it is yours for free.<BR><BR>Remember as well that in
most western states, the federal government still <BR>owns more than half the
land. In some areas they own over 80%. The Bureau of <BR>Land Management was
established to put that land into productive use (hence <BR>the nickname
Bureau of Livestock and Mining). Ranchers were encouraged to <BR>take what was
then considered unproductive land and develop it.<BR><BR>Today we have a
different perspective of land stewardship, and BLM policy is <BR>shifting
towards more balanced use of the land. Regardless, it is important <BR>to
understand that part of the culture of the west was based on a very <BR>strong
public policy of exploiting the land to harness it for productive
<BR>use.<BR><BR>Most of these ranches were started several generations ago.
They took <BR>unfertile, unproductive land and dug wells, put in fences and
roads, and <BR>made it useful. They have fulfilled their end of the public
bargain for <BR>generations, and their ancestors are buried on that
land.<BR><BR>Keep this in mind when talking with the ranchers. Of course
public policy <BR>has shifted. We now can look at the original land grants as
stealing from <BR>the Native Americans. We can look at the cattle grazing as
ecological <BR>damage. We can look at the ranches as federal subsidies for the
beef <BR>industry. While these views have merit, so to does the point that
these <BR>ranchers have very much loyally served our public policy since long
before <BR>any of us were born.<BR><BR>We need to be careful to not have a
negative image of the ranchers. As I <BR>spoke with ranchers they were more
keenly aware of ecological concerns than <BR>many backpackers. On a simple
level, they are the ones who clean up the <BR>trash and debris from
trespassers and illegal migrant workers. But they are <BR>also the ones whose
cattle wells support the finches and other wildlife. <BR>Many are keenly
interested in the trail. At least one even re-ties the <BR>surveying flagging
tape that marks the trail over his ranch after windstorms <BR>rip it
down.<BR><BR>>From the ranchers perspective, this is their land.
Their situation is <BR>analogous to the land grants, except that the federal
government retained <BR>ownership to the land. Many would buy the land, but it
is not for sale. This <BR>is where they have lived for generations, and they
have developed they land <BR>with no help from anyone else. Now we show up and
demand that we have the <BR>right to trespass on their land.<BR><BR>While you
can attempt to "educate" the farmers on the legal status, they <BR>already
know more than you do on the legal status and that approach is
<BR>confrontational rather than productive. Instead, start with understanding
<BR>their perspective and ask their thoughts on how the trail should be
managed. <BR>Starting from there I found several who were actively engaged
locally, some <BR>to help the trail and some to keep the trail off of their
property. Either <BR>way, once engaged they would help with suggestions of
routes and water <BR>sources. And either way, rather than confrontation, we
were just people <BR>coming to understand each other better. In the long run,
that will be what <BR>is best for both the ranchers and the
trail.<BR><BR>Steady (07)
<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Cdt-l mailing
list<BR>Cdt-l@backcountry.net<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>