Silver City, Sep 10, 2004 - With the resolutions of the Kit Laney case at hand, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R.N.M., are urging the U.S. Forest Service to work toward rebuilding cooperative working relationships with the state's livestock producers.
The Catron County rancher reportedly will plead guilty to lesser charges stemming from his alleged assault on federal officers during a court-ordered roundup on the Gila National Forest's Diamond Bar allotment.
The two New Mexico Republicans issued statements advocating leniency for Laney as a means to build bridges between livestock producers who have grazing permits on public lands and federal range managers, according to a joint news release from the lawmakers.
"The end of the Laney case gives the Forest Service a window of opportunity to begin improving its relationship with permittees,." Domenici said. "The acrimonious atmosphere generated by the Laney situation is not helpful to the Forest Service or livestock producers. All parties are under a lot of stress. The forest service is under pressure to manage the forests better and catch up with its permit process. Ranching has never been easy, and the drought has only made it harder."
According to Laney's legal adviser, Albuquerque attorney Charles Aspinwall, aney has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanors rather than go to trial on felony charges-bringing to a close a dispute that has been ongoing for more than a decade.
Pearce said the situation "should not have come to this point, but now let's put this sad ordeal behind us and move on. I'm certain there are more important cases for the U.S. attorney's office to be working on that are affecting our community."
On March 31, Pearce requested an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture into the Forest Service's handling of the Diamond Bar grazing case.
Aspinwall said the plea agreement was entered into by Laney to avoid a loss of constitutional rights.
"Everyone convicted of a felony in this country loses constitutional rights," including the right to possess firearms, Aspinwall said. "For a stockman, concerned with predators, that can be a problem."
With a felony conviction, Laney would also lose rights to vote and perform jury duty.
He was slated to face a jury trial in federal district court in Albuquerque beginning Sept.14, charged with five counts of aggravated assault on federal officers; two counts of obstruction of justice; and one count of interfering with a court order.
In pleading to the lesser charges-assault on a federal officer and obstruction of a court order-Laney avoids a maximum sentence of 63 years in prison, Aspinwall said. He could serve a maximum of between 10 and 16 months in jail on each of two misdemeanors.
"It's a sad thing," Aspinwall said. "There has to be a lessening of tensions between the rural community and the government. Here's an example of what can happen when things get out of hand."
Laney was arrested and jailed March 14, after Forest Service officers alleged he charged his horse at them in a temporary impoundment area and tried to tear down a corral holding a number of his cattle. He was eventually restrained and arrested by officers.
The prospect of jail time isn't Laney's only problem.
A federal court has ruled Laney and Sherry farr, owners of the Diamond bar Cattle Co., must reimburse the U.S. Forest Service for all costs associated with the removal of cattle from the 146,000-acre allotment-about 85 percent of which is within disignated wilderness.
The forest Service auctioned 425 head of Diamond bar cattle for $200,800. Laney still faces a bill for about $230,000 for costs associated with the roundup and sale of the cattle.
A U.S. district Court judge ordered the cattle be removed from the allotment because the ranchers did not have a grazing permit.
While Farr and Laney do not hold permits to graze livestock on forests lands known as the Diamond bar allotment, they do own private land within the allotment, and have contended in law suits that they have grazing rights based on historical use of the land.
Courts have ruled against them numerous times since the mid-1990's.
The ranchers contend they are entitled to surface rights on the Diamond bar, claiming historical use of the allotment predates the authority of the Forest Service. they have argued they own a "vested fee interest" in areas the federal govenment claims to control, and that such an interest is similar to owning mineral rights or another easement on the land. In their case, the ownership is tied to both water rights and the land that is incidental to the water rights for grazing.
Laney and Farr alleged that the roundup and sale of their cattle was illegal and "an unconstitutional jurisdiction over us and our life, liberty and property."
Under federal grazing law, based on language authored by Domenici, the secretaries of Interior and Agriculture must renew expiring grazing permits under existing terms until 2008.
The pending version of the Interiors Department's Appropriations Bill for the 2005 fiscal year provides an additional $6.6 million to the Forest Service for a total of $50 million for grazing management on forest lands, according th the release.

###