Although Jon Tate of the Tucson, Ariz.-based Western
Gamebird Association wants to get cows off some Arizona grazing
allotments, he’s not talking about endangered species or water
quality.
“The reason we want to save this land
is there’s a bunch of little birds there that we want to shoot for
fun,” he told the Albuquerque Journal.
Now,
Tate’s group has found common ground with Forest Guardians, the
activist group based in Santa Fe, N.M. In early May, the two groups
filed a joint lawsuit against the state of
Arizona.
“It might seem like an odd alliance to
some, but we care about the same thing, and that’s the habitat,”
says Forest Guardians’ John Horning.
The groups
had hoped to move cows off about 20,000 acres of state land by
acquiring two 10-year grazing leases. Although they offered at
least twice as much as other bidders, Arizona’s Land Department
denied their application.
Dennis Wells, the
director of the department, says new allotment users must
compensate previous users for grazing improvements like fences and
artificial water sources. He says the groups did not offer to pay
for these improvements on the allotments.
“They
don’t wish to follow the law, they wish to make a political
statement and get lots of media attention,” says Wells. “If they
were really serious about taking over these permits, they’d address
the question of grazing improvements.”
“It’s a
total non-issue,” responds Horning. His group has not made an offer
on the grazing improvements, but he says they have compensated
ranchers for improvements in New Mexico and would be willing to do
so in Arizona. Says Horning, “Let us in the game, and we’ll play by
the rules.”
*Michelle
Nijhuis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline ‘Odd couple’ sues over grazing permits.
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