Ranchers accused of 'leasing' publicly owned land and trespass grazing

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department
today sued two ranchers and the estate of a third rancher for trespassing
on federal lands in Nevada. The ranchers are alleged to have repeatedly
grazed livestock without federal permits despite repeated trespass notices
from the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the
Department of Agriculture's Forest Service.

    The civil complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the District
of Nevada accuses ranchers Wayne N. Hage, Benjamin J. Colvin, and the
estate of E. Wayne Hage of intentionally grazing cattle on multiple
occasions on federally managed lands in Esmeralda and Nye Counties. In
addition, the defendants are accused of receiving monetary compensation for
unlawfully "leasing" lands owned by the United States to other ranchers for
grazing purposes, despite having no property interest in these lands.

    On 38 different occasions since 2004, BLM and Forest Service officers
observed cattle owned by Colvin and the Hages unlawfully grazing on federal
property. Since then BLM and the Forest Service have sent multiple notices
to the defendants notifying them of their unauthorized use of federal land.
The defendants have returned each of those notices to BLM and the Forest
Service and contended that the federal government has no authority to
regulate federal property. In addition, the defendants have refused to pay
for their unauthorized use of federal property.

    The Bureau of Land Management has the authority to manage, administer,
and protect federal lands including regulating grazing under the Taylor
Grazing Act of 1934 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
The Forest Service regulates federally owned national forests under the
Organic Administration Act of 1897.

    The federal government is seeking to prohibit the continued unlawful
grazing on federal property and to obtain reimbursement for that
unauthorized use.