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The Ranchers
A documentary about the Mantles, a family of Colorado cattle ranchers who are fighting a losing battle to save their
ranch from the strong arm tactics of the Department of the Interior, the fanaticism of radical environmentalists and the
political maneuvering of the current Administration.
The West is changing and for the worse say the Mantle family and other cattle ranchers like them who see the efforts of The Department of the Interior, radical environmentalists, and the current Administration as corruptive influences that will destroy their livelihood and ultimately; an American icon, the Cowboy.
THE ARGUMENT
The family cattle ranch is a small, independent operation and has been part of our Western American culture for almost 180 years. It is slowly being replaced by larger cattle management organizations that take little pride in preserving this culture. These larger organizations consume smaller ranches and ultimately put them out of business. The ones that survive, survive because they operate on leased government lands. Some of that land is part of the National Parks System.
The Mantles have operated a cattle ranch in Dinosaur National Park since 1919. The land was leased to them by
the federal government's Department of the Interior. They were given a grazing permit that gave them the "right" to
graze their cattle in perpetuity. As the years passed the park grew to encircle the Mantle ranch. Today, pressure from the
Parks Service; by way
of The Department of the Interior; which is controlled by the current Administration, is forcing the acquisition of the Mantle
ranch so it can give it to the public for recreation and "land development". This presents a conflict because the
Mantles have leased this land in perpetuity for the purposes of operating their cattle ranch.
Fueling the conflict are radical enviromentalists who would like the land taken away from the Mantles because they claim grazing cows harm the soil. Microbes and lichen that live in the soil are being destroyed by cattle which step on this cryptogenic soil. The reason for preserving this soil is to return the park to its natural state. However, the Mantles argue that if the cows are removed irreversible soil erosion will occur. Without grazing cows there is nothing to step on and break the hard-packed cyptogenic soil. As a result, fallen grass seed is not pushed into the soil where it will grow. Grass is the only thing that stops soil erosion. Cows are essential to this process and are; therefore, key to proper land management. Moreover, the latter is reflective of the arrangement that the Mantles and other ranchers like them agreed to when they signed their land lease with the federal government. Ranchers were given, in perpetuity, a grazing permit to feed their cows and in turn, the federal government received a reliable resource of land managers. This arrangement worked well for many decades until the fallout from the current Administration's policies. However, after many years of debate over the issue of proper land management; and above all, the intense harrassment and overt acts of vandalism from the Parks Service, the Mantles are ready to sell their lease to the Department of the Interior. However, the Department of the Interior will not pay the Mantles the market value of their lease. Unfortunately, the Mantles are forced to stay and endure the psychological war that the Parks Service wages againts them until a fair price for their buyout is offered. However, the park rangers destroyed essential property and access to resources that allow the Mantles to properly operate their ranch. Life has become most difficult on the ranch because the Parks Service will not fix the damage that they were found guilty of creating.
SPECIFICS
In 1995 the Mantles sued the Parks Service for these acts of vandalism and won. They proved that an illegal plan of intimidation in which covert acts of vandalism were divised and carried out in order to remove the Mantles from the land that, by contract, was their's to use in perpetuity.
The Mantles have occupied the Dinosaur property for eighty years and were promised grazing rights for their cattle. If that land is taken away from them they will no longer be able to carry on as ranchers.
If the Department of the Interior and the radical environmentalists have their way and this trend of removing ranchers from federal grazing lands continues, families like the Mantles will find themselves out of work and out of place. The long term result is a bit disturbing because if the ranchers go, so goes an icon of Western American culture; i.e., the Cowboy will be in danger of extinction.
The federal government is breaking grazing leases throughout the country by buying out finiancially troubled ranchers. These ranchers sell their leases at a price that is far below their value. Once the ranchers take the government's money they may be out of debt but they are also out of work and out of place. How will they survive?
If this trend of "land swaping" continues, where will the cowboys who used to work for these ranchers go when the ranchers are forced out of business? What will become of that lifestyle that has helped define America to the world?
MORE ARGUMENTS
There is so much land being reclaimed by the federal government that they have to auction off large parcels to anybody who will manage it. However, what is happening is that developers are buying the land and are not managing it but are sub-dividing it. These developers are selling the land to wealthy people from metropolitian areas because these people love the "idea" of the West and want to be a part of its traditions. The ranchers say that these people are not responsible land managers; and will, in the long run, scar the land and destroy the traditions. We can find a reference to this potential in Robert Redford's film "The Horse Wisperer". The ranchers say that they don't have much hope in fighting off the forces that are working against them because the voting public doesn't have the complete story. Ranchers claim that their cause would have a better chance of being understood and addressed if the American public had more accurate information about the issues. The ranchers say that the public cannot politically recognize their plight because they have little pull in Washington. Powerful environmental groups are lobbying against these independent ranchers who only have themselves to support their cause and maintain their rights.
Confusing the issue is the fact that these ranchers are dealing with a public that has been influenced by radical environmenatlists who have created a mind set that yields contempt for any human activity within nature. This contempt is very dangerous because it can foster misleading information about proper land management.
In reiterating the above, we are reminded that removing cows from federal grazing lands will create less growth in the grass that keeps the soil intact. When the cows go, the seeds that grow grass will not be driven into the soil; therefore, less grass grows and soil washes away.
The importance in this for the Mantles and ranchers like them is that the cows, and the individuals who manage them are as much a part of the Western eco-system as the microbes and lichen or deer and antelope and deserve to be protected as well as have the right to occupy land, as promised to them by the federal government.
The public needs to be made aware that the West has maintained its renewable resources by way of the livestock and the rancher. Working together they have contributed to an environmentally and agriculturally stable relationship for almost 180 years.
What is important to recognize, as well; with the removal of ranchers and their cows, is that if they go so goes a way of life. Simply put; an icon, the Cowboy, which identifies Western American culture to the world, faces extinction because the current Administration wants to win votes from an environmentally sympathetic but environmentally illinformed public.
Ranchers, especially the Mantles, need to have their story told so the public can be made aware of the risks to the West if ranchers continue to be intimidated into selling their federal grazing permits.
THE RANCHERS
The story about a family of ranchers who are trying to save themselves from extinction.
"The Ranchers"
Copyright (c) 1999 by:
Garret C. Maynard
The Gary-Paul Agency
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
