OPINION/COMMENTARY

It's Time To End Laney Grazing Case

Kit Laney's decision to plead guilty to charges stemming from the court-ordered removal of his cattle from a wilderness grazing allotment should be the final chapter in this sad saga.

Nine years of legal wrangling made the facts clear: Laney and his ex-wife and ranching partner Sherry Farr balked at U.S. Forest Service directives to reduce the herd on their allotment in the Gila National Wilderness. The Forest Service ordered the reduction in part because of overgrazing.

The pair also refused to remove their cattle after their grazing permit expired in January 1996. Then, in March 2003, Laney was accused of trying to trample Forest Service officers with his horse and attempting to tear down a corral where they'd penned his cattle. The officers were trying to carry out a court order to remove his cattle from the public land.

The 43-year-old rancher, who was facing up to 63 years in prison for charges stemming from the incident, now says he'll plead guilty to assault on a federal officer and obstruction of a court order.

Though Laney still faces up to 32 months in jail on the remaining charges, locking him up would be overkill.

Laney has lost his cattle, most if not all of the land on which to graze them and, according to his legal adviser, he's broke. Laney spent some time in jail after the March incident, and still owes the federal government an estimated $230,000 -- all of which should be taken into account at sentencing.

The case has been a wedge issue between ranchers and the Forest Service, especially in a period when drought conditions force reduction of herds.

Steve Libby, range staff officer for the Gila National Forest, said, "We're trying very hard to reassure our grazing permitees that this (case) in no way reflects an attitude on the part of the Forest Service that is anti-grazing on Forest Service lands. We are trying to restore the relationship with the grazing industry."

Closing the last chapter of the sad Laney saga by resolving this case can only help improve those relations.