Court Upholds $587K in Damages for Illegal Grazing by Nevada Rancher

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Damages for Illegal Grazing

A federal appeals court has upheld more than half a million dollars in damages that a Nevada rancher was ordered to pay the government for illegally grazing cattle on public lands. This case, involving E. Wayne Hage's cattle grazing, has been a significant point of contention in the Western property rights movement for over a decade.

The legal battle concluded in 2017 when a district court ruled in favor of the government, stating that Hage's estate owed $587,294.28 in damages for unauthorized cattle grazing from November 2004 to June 2011. The court also mandated the removal of all livestock from public lands. The Supreme Court declined to review the case, and on Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the damages.

The court determined that the damages were calculated based on the number of cows grazed by the Hages, multiplied by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service's monthly rates for willful unauthorized grazing. The case initially began in 2007 with charges against Hage for illegally grazing cattle within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and neighboring BLM lands without the necessary permits.

Although Hage passed away in 2006, his son, Wayne Hage, continued the legal fight, initially securing a win in federal district court. However, this decision was overturned in a January 2016 9th Circuit decision that criticized the lower court's reasoning (Greenwire, Jan. 18, 2016).

For further details, see the original article by E&E News.