LONG TERM OBJECTIVES:

A. Vested Rights on Federal Lands

An integral consideration for the protection of those local economies dependent on the livestock industry is the reestablishment of a private property “vested” right in livestock grazing on federal lands. At the current time, federal agencies consider livestock grazing permits as a “mere privilege” which can be revoked at will. However, there is strong legal and economic evidence to support the proposition that livestock grazing on federal lands is more than a privilege, but is, in fact, a legally protected right, the taking of which requires payment under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. To achieve the objective of proving the existence of vested private property grazing rights, the Coalition of Counties should:

1. Assist in funding a legal study to determine the extent of vested private property grazing rights on federal lands.

2. Recruit other funding sources to assist in completing this legal study, including seeking support from the National Cattlemen’s Association, the Public Lands Council, the American Farm Bureau and other associations.

B. Protection of 1872 Mining Law

The Coalition of Counties should work to ensure that the Mining Law of 1872 remains intact and is not altered or amended by Congress. This law is the basis of numerous principles that protect local economies such as the prior appropriations doctrine under state water law, the law allowing the transfer of title to subsurface rights on federal lands and the principle of a “split estate” on BLM and Forest Service lands. These principles are critical to the protection of the local mining and livestock industries. Congress must not be allowed, even inadvertently, to alter these rights.

C. Other Projects for Consideration

The following issues are also important to the citizens represented by the Coalition of Counties.

1. Congressional and federal agency proposals to create additional wilderness areas and wild and scenic river designations.

2. The acquisition of water rights by the state and federal government.