The State Cracks Down on Grazing Trespassers
After years of free use, sheep ranchers are forced to pay for grazing rights on state lands.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
An addition of approximately $20,000 to the state school fund has resulted from the action of Land Commissioner Clark V. Savidge in investigating grazing lands owned by the state. The commissioner found that for years, sheep men from Oregon and Washington had used these lands, driving their flocks from lowlands to mountains without paying a cent to the state. One rancher, displeased at the new fees, noted he had used the range for 18 years for free. Savidge put the land up for competitive lease, significantly increasing revenue for the state. He intends to continue similar investigations regarding timber trespass in other counties.
“One sheep man... declared that he had used the forage on it for his sheep for 18 years and had never been required to pay a cent for it.”
This reflects the ongoing shift in the early 20th century from an 'open range' frontier mindset to a more managed, revenue-based approach to public lands. It prefigures modern struggles over the usage and leasing of federal and state lands in the American West.
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