DIAMOND BAR CATTLE COMPANY

Murphey takes a stand for Gila ranchers

It’s nearly midnight as Michael Martin Murphey leans back in his chair and brushes his hand down his beard.

He’s a little bit tired.

“That’s all we’ve got to give,” he said.

The weariness is evident in his very familiar voice, but his eyes are still bright. The day’s been long. At 11 a.m. he’d attended his son’s college graduation, proudly watching as a philosophy and mathematics degree was conferred. Then he caught a train to Truth or Consequences for a benefit concert for southern New Mexico ranchers Kit Laney, and Laney’s partner of 25 years Sherry Farr. Laney was arrested on March 14 and faces five counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of interfering with a court order. He spent 24 days and about nine hours in jail after allegedly charging U.S. Forest Service personnel on horseback. Those officers, who were armed, accused Laney of hitting at least one of them, and damaging a temporary pen where Laney’s confiscated cattle were being held.
Laney said he was only trying to put calves needing to milk back with mama cows.

On Saturday, May 22, Murphey — himself a New Mexico rancher — performed for nearly 900 fans, some who drove for hours and from miles away to hear the world’s number one cowboy singer. There’s an irony as Murphey, black cowboy hat still atop his head, talks about why he chose to take a stand for this couple in Truth or Consequences. When someone as famous as Murphey focuses his attention on an issue, the truth tends to unfold in the limelight; as Laney awaits his trial Murphey is confident the consequences will fall into place.

“Wait on the Lord,” Murphey tells the couple, quietly. “Wait on the Lord.”

Murphey came across Laney’s plight while surfing the Internet.

“I keep track of a lot of these kind of stories,” he said. “It was while I was looking into another case, and it somehow came up with (search engine criteria) land rights and grazing. I got in touch with some people and the next thing you know here we are.”

Murphey’s interest in ranchers and property rights started when he was 6 years old. He grew up on a ranch, and that’s just how he’s raising his children.
“I’m very, very interested in what’s going on. I consider it to be the most important issue in the world today,” he said.

For 14 years Murphey has raised money and public awareness in a similar cause: that of Nevada rancher Wayne Hage. Like Laney and Farr, the federal government — through the court system — sought to remove Hage from land where he had grazed cattle for decades. (That case is now in the federal Court of Claims.) But until Saturday’s concert Murphey had never met the couple who own the Diamond Bar and Laney ranches. The Diamond Bar Ranch is in Winston, and parts of the ranch are in Sierra, Grant and southern Catron counties. His family began working that land in the 1800s.

Murphey’s actions speak loud and clear, and because of his stance he received numerous anonymous death threats before the May 22 event. Throughout the evening four bodyguards made themselves obvious, even as Murphey spent some 90 minutes getting close with fans and signing autographs in the dimly-lit auditorium. The gathering was friendly, with smiles and handshakes rippling among the crowd like an agreeable breeze wafting through a field of blossoms. Denim and black felt comprised the evening’s dress, with plaids and bright colors dotting the crowd.
Murphey took the stage about 9 p.m. and was outspoken in his inter-song chatter. He said as much with his selection of tunes during his performance, which ran well past an hour.

“I think the problem with the media in this Kit Laney thing is they don’t speak our language. It’s not over. He (Laney) is going back (home),” Murphey said as the crowd gave him one of its many ovations.

Murphey, who has received a Forest Service award for his efforts on wildfire awareness, pointed out that the whole Forest Service isn’t bad.

“We don’t need to kill each other over this,” he said. “We need to start treating each other with respect.”

He did, however, decry what he characterized as an agenda working to remove cattle and man from the land. He said fire management over the last century has only exacerbated the problem of tinderboxes in the west, making forests ripe for destruction. Conversely, he emphasized that cattle were created by God and when the animals graze they reduce that fire danger.

“But we have roped this (the forests and land) off and declared we know how to do it better than God,” Murphey said. “Unfortunately I think it’s going to be a disaster. ... Disasters like that make so-called environmentalists look bad until they realize that (ranchers) on the ground are the only people that understand what’s going on.”

He summed up the modern ranchers’ dilemma in a single phrase: “The lack of understanding of the culture of agriculture.”

There’s proof backing up Murphey’s suppositions. He revealed to the crowd that he had seen the memo written by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (under President Bill Clinton’s Administration) that stated America’s rangelands were in the best shape in a hundred years.

“ ‘We’re going to have to find another way to get them (cowboys and ranchers) off the land,’” Murphey said the memo then clearly stipulated.

Then, for a moment Murphey pondered. Would he have the fortitude, he finally mused aloud, to stand up against the resources of the U.S. government?

“I don’t know if I’d have the guts to look (my kids) in the eye and say I’m going to jail,” Murphey said.

“Sure you would,” said Laney. “The other option is to look them in the eye and say we’re losing everything we’ve got.”

The Paragon Foundation, property-rights advocates that fund ranchers such as the Hages and Laney in their court battles, sponsored Murphey’s concert.

“Michael Martin Murphey has been involved in this from the git-go,” Paragon Executive Director G.B. Oliver III said. “He did a concert for Wayne Hage in Nevada.”

According to Oliver, New Mexico Livestock Board member Joe Delk first called Murphey. Murphey invited a neighbor, a cowboy poet, to join him on stage. Delk, a well-known musician, finished out the night with his band fiddling up an old-fashioned dance — a lot of high-toned and old-timey two-stepping songs after the audience itself cleared the floor of chairs.

“I was glad to be a part of it,” said Delk’s son Neal Delk, the band’s singer and lead guitarist. “My dad’s played a big part in getting this set up. When this came up about doing a benefit we told Dad — ‘we’ being my brothers and the rest of the band — ‘Don’t let us slow you down. We’ll be there to help you with Kit and Sherry and the Paragon Foundation to support the cause.’ ”

Concert goer Sabrina Baxter, also a Delk family friend, called the show “excellent.”

“From what I could see of it, it was very overwhelming,” she said.

Laney, for the most part, was speechless; but then Oliver described Laney as a quiet man who, like Murphey, chooses to speak through actions.
“Man, I’m impressed,” Laney said.

His wide grin, though, said reams more.

Laney has not been permitted to return home to his ranch since his release from the Doña Any County Detention Center. He was remanded to the custody of Crow Flats rancher Bob Jones, Paragon’s president, with the proviso that he stay at Jones’ ranch.

“You can’t say enough good about them Joneses,” Laney said. “I don’t think a hired hand ever got treated so well.”

Laney did get the court’s permission to travel to Truth or Consequences on Saturday with Jones and his wife Elizabeth, and their son Bobby Jones and his wife Pat.

“I think it was a real success,” said Jones, who is always outspoken on ranchers and property rights issues. “And I think it sends a message to the Forest Service and the U.S. attorneys for the mess they caused for Kit. We also hope that the politicians are paying attention cause they can do something about it if they’ll just get involved.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) has called for an investigation into the Forest Service’s actions.

Paragon granted discovery in suit

Paragon Foundation lawyers have 12th Judicial District Judge Frank Wilson’s approval to query State of New Mexico Livestock Board members in writing, regarding a controversial Memorandum Of Understanding.

Paragon sought the discovery process on Monday as part of the foundation’s lawsuit alleging the Livestock Board violated the Open Meetings Act.

“I think,” Paragon Executive Director G.B. Oliver III said, “that’s what will tell us whether we have a case. If they ever try to keep us from finding out the facts of the case, that seems kind of odd to me.”

Paragon, a property- and Constitutional-rights advocate based in Alamogordo, is suing on behalf of Catron County ranchers Kit Laney and Sherry Farr. As Laney’s family has done for more than a century, the couple graze cattle on the Gila National Forest, or did until federal courts ruled they had to cut the herd. The Forest Service had the cattle impounded, which Laney and Farr contend was “illegal” and “a criminal offense.”

Their situation escalated on March 14 when Laney was arrested. He allegedly charged U.S. Forest Service personnel while on horseback. Those officers, who were armed, accused Laney of hitting at least one of them, and damaging a temporary pen holding Laney’s confiscated cattle. According to Livestock Board member Joe Delk, in a March 19 letter to the Forest Service after he inspected the impounded cattle on March 17, 251 head of “bulls, cows, yearlings and calves” were penned.

Delk, in his letter, wrote: “It is my opinion that the Forest Service personnel involved in the impoundment of the Laney cattle, including their contractor, are not sufficiently capable of handling and caring for these cattle in a manner that adequately satisfies me that there won’t be cattle unnecessarily injured or cattle that die from the stress and strain of the circumstance in which they have been placed. It is my recommendation that the New Mexico Livestock Board take an active role in observing the care and handling of these cattle to insure that there can be no instance or inference of animal neglect or cruelty.”

Of his March 14 actions, Laney said he was only trying to put calves needing to milk back with mama cows. He faces five counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of interfering with a court order. He spent 24-1/2 days in jail.

On March 7, The Associated Press reported Laney and Farr “have been battling the ... Forest Service for years,” and finally turned to the Livestock Board for help. “But,” the story stated, “the board said it can’t stop the cattle from being removed from Forest Service allotments.” Board Executive Director Dan Manzanares then violated the Open Meetings Act according to Paragon’s suit, by entering into the MOU with the Forest Service. Signed only by Manzanares, the document states the Forest Service and/or a contractor would impound branded livestock for transportation and sale.

Creating that MOU violated the Open Meetings Act, Paragon alleges. It believes “Manzanares’ actions were ... made without authority, and are, therefore, void” because the “MOU was approved by Manzanares on behalf of the Livestock Board.” The suit contends “Manzanares did not have statutory authority to approve the MOU on behalf of the Livestock Board,” and that the MOU had “not been ratified by a vote” of board members.

Lawyers representing Paragon, the Kienzle firm of Albuquerque, maintain if executive directors “had the authority to execute” such documents then “boards would be unnecessary.”

On Monday, Paul Kienzle reiterated that stance to Wilson. Kienzle stated that as part of the legal discovery process he simply wants to know which board members may have discussed the MOU outside of a scheduled board meeting, and who else participated in discussions.

“There may be people I wish to depose,” Kienzle. “They (the board) may identify people I’m not aware of ... in executing of the Memorandum Of Understanding.”
New Mexico Assistant Attorney General David T. Tourek, though, countered that the board never authorized the letter, ergo its members did not act and therefore can not be accused of violating the Open Meetings Act. Instead, he said the document was only Manzanares’ “opinion,” which negates any “purpose” for discovery of how the board performed.

“That Memorandum of Understanding was not ... a physical vote,” Tourek said. “We’re talking about the action of the executive director whose name is on that document. Did a quorum act? There is no evidence of a quorum acting.”

Kienzle disagreed.

“This was a specific action. This was something the board decided to do and they decided to do it through their director,” he said. “I maintain ... the Memorandum Of Understanding is an action of the board. It needed to be voted on at a public meeting, of course under the Open Meetings Act. It’s actions of a board that are not taken at a public meeting which are declared void when not done properly.”

Delk, on March 31 after a prior hearing before Wilson, said he was not notified of the memorandum until after it was signed — and then only by mail. He said he thought the issue should have been dealt with in a public meeting.

“Some may consider it a daily activity of the executive director, but I certainly don’t,” Delk said. “There’s nobody out there holding (the Forest Service) accountable and that’s where the Livestock Board should be more involved.”

Wilson granted Paragon’s motion in part by permitting written questions to be submitted to the board in lieu of full depositions.

“I can’t see how they (the board) would possible find that objectionable,” Kienzle said. “I’m asking for some very limited items here.”

“I think I would be remiss if I did not permit (the participation) of Mr. Manzanares,” Wilson said. “Let’s see what the written discovery provides.”

He did stipulate a caveat.

“That’s not going to include every telephone conversation. That would be ridiculous,” he said, at the same time acknowledging that what was learned might lead to depositions.

Kienzle surprised Tourek when he revealed that not all of Laney’s and Farr’s cattle have been rounded up. Farr herself was not in court, Kienzle said, because the Forest Service asked her help in bringing in remaining cattle.

“That’s a shocker,” Tourek said. “(I thought) they all went to Arizona on a train and they’re being served at McDonald’s.”

The next hearing is June 29, at 3 p.m. Wilson said one of the issues he will address is whether Paragon has legal standing in the suit.

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) has called for an investigation into the Forest Service’s actions.