Western property rights victory. (Insider Report).

After more than a decade of trials and tribulations in the federal regulatory maze and the courts, the Wayne Hage family of Nevada has scored a major victory for ranchers and for property rights. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims issued a landmark decision on January 29th, in which Senior Judge Loren A. Smith rejected the position of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that ranchers have no property rights on their grazing allotments. Moreover, Judge Smith ruled that government regulation making it impossible to exercise these rights amounts to a "taking" and necessitates that government justly compensate the property owners.

The Hages had filed the takings claim against the USFS and BLM in 1991 after excessive regulations and physical takings of their property had run them out of business. "When you combine everything the court has ruled that we own in this final decision, it is clear that the key property rights essential to a western livestock grazing operation are recognized," noted plaintiff Wayne Hage.

Concerning the important issue of water rights, Judge Smith stated: "The Government cannot deny citizens access to their vested water rights without providing a way for them to divert that water to another beneficial purpose if one exists. The Government cannot cancel a grazing permit and then prohibit the plaintiffs from accessing the water to redirect it to another place of valid beneficial use. The plaintiffs have a right to go onto the land and divert the water."

"For the first time in history, a federal court has defined the balance between the western ranchers property rights and the government's ability to regulate," commented Hage attorney Ladd Bedford. "This decision is a major step forward for the security of federal land ranchers."