GUEST OPINIONS

The Hinge of The West

By Dick Blust, Jr.

Geography, of course, is fundamental to all aspects of history, and in few cases is this more profoundly true than in the American West.

Arguably, the most significant – in an emblematic sense, at least – is the TriTerritory Historic Site in Sweetwater County, where the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Country and the Mexican Cession all joined at a single spot along the Continental Divide.

Those three acquisitions, with the last coming in 1848, became the overwhelming bulk of the Western U.S. outside of Texas.

During fall of 2022, along with Dave Mead, executive director of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River, I traveled to the site to photograph it. It’s a lonely place and the vista is breathtaking in any direction, which helps us get a handle on the West’s elemental fact – its immensity.

Dave and I talked about the fact we were standing – figuratively and in a way even literally – at its center.

Look at a map of the U.S. and imagine a circle with a radius of roughly 900 miles with the Tri-Ter- ritory Site at its center.

Within this circle are the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico and a portion of Texas.

As such, the site serves as the base of a great hinge, whose long, sweeping arm extends east to St. Louis, south to the Rio Grande, west to the Golden Gate and north to the Canadian border – the Hinge of the West.

The Tri-Territory Site may be symbolic, but it is nonetheless a vital symbol. There, the holdings of three empires combined to form what is, for many of us, the most important part of the U.S.

The morality and the means of how we came into possession of these immense tracts will always be the subject of intense debate, but it is impossible to imagine an America without the West.

Dick Blust, Jr. is an author and staff member of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum in Green River. This op-ed was originally published on wyohistory.org on Jan. 18.

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Ewes missing in Wright

Guy Edwards discovered around 70-80 white-faced sheep, worth nearly $21,000, missing from his ranch in Wright on July 8.

Guy, whose yearling ewes were mixed with his father’s, said he is missing about 50 head of yearling ewes and his father Rich is missing about 20-25 head of yearling ewes. There may be a couple adult ewes missing as well.

Guy immediately reported the missing sheep to the Campbell County sheriff and the livestock board inspector. His ewes are branded with a “GE” in the middle of the back in red sheep paint and have yellow or blue ear tags. Some have a cropped left ear, others don’t. Rich’s are branded with a blue circle on the rump and have bear orange ear tags.

The family brought the bunch in to dock lambs on July 8. At this time, they counted the yearling ewes and discovered some were missing.

Guy then made a careful trip through the pasture and neighboring pastures to look for the sheep. At this time, he found where he believes the sheep had been loaded on a trailer, just prior to gathering them.

Guy believes the incident happened during the late evening of July 6.

Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny said the officer assigned to the case is following up on possible leads. He stressed it is not considered a cold case at this time.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the Wyoming Livestock Board at 307-777-7515 or the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office at 307-682-7271.

Summer meeting set

U.S. cattle producers will gather in San Diego July 24-26 for the industry’s Summer Business Meeting to discuss critical issues, develop initiatives and establish direction for various projects aimed at improving the beef cattle industry.

One of the highlights of the event is the educational session titled “Optimizing Resources and Leveraging Technology to Build Resilience,” held July 26, which will provide leaders with a glimpse into building resilience.

This session, sponsored by Envu, will feature Dr. James Oltjen, cooperative Extension animal management systems specialist at the University of CaliforniaDavis, with a look at the most recent research on water use in U.S. beef production.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Senior Director of Sustainability Samantha Werth will moderate a panel discussion focused on tools and technologies available to help producers optimize water resources and grazing management.

The Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting includes leaders representing NCBA, the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

For more information, visit ncba.org

Resolution praised

On July 13, cattle industry leaders praised the introduction of a bipartisan Congressional resolution recognizing the importance of commodity checkoff programs, including the Beef Checkoff.

“As a cattle producer who invests in the Beef Checkoff, I know how important this program is to the continued success of America’s cattlemen and cattlewomen. The Beef Checkoff was created by cattle producers, is run by cattle producers and provides immense benefit to cattle producers,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Todd Wilkinson, a South Dakota cattle producer.

“I am proud of Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) for leading this resolution and standing with cattle producers to recognize the importance of checkoff programs,” he added. “I hope more members of Congress listen to farmers and ranchers and reject animal rights activist-led proposals like the OFF Act which undermines producer control of checkoffs.”

Every time cattle are sold in the U.S., one dollar from the sale goes to support the Beef Checkoff. These investments are collected by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, a producer-led organization overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Each year, industry organizations, research institutions and land-grant universities develop proposals focused on strengthening beef demand through research, consumer education, marketing and promotion efforts.

Cattlemen and cattlewomen who volunteer their time to serve on the beef board, as appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, determine which proposals to fund. The organizations that receive funding become contractors to the Beef Checkoff and undergo regular audits to ensure the judicious use of producer dollars and compliance to the program.

NJAA directors announced

Growing future industry leaders is an important part of the legacy of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA). Each year, six junior members are elected to serve on the National Junior Angus Board (NJAB), where they further develop their leadership skills and represent Angus youth.

The new directors were announced during the awards ceremony at the 2023 National Junior Angus Show on July 7 in Grand Island, Neb.

For many members, running for the board symbolizes a culmination of years of involvement and a chance to pursue a dream set at an early age.

The newly elected board members will serve two years on the NJAB – the first year as directors and the second as officers.

They are Jonwyn Ayres of Powers, Ore.; Suter Clark of Gretna, Va.; Kyli Kraft of Fort Collins, Colo.; Alli Perry of Fayetteville, Tenn.; Sawyer Styles of Brentford, S.D. and Mary Wood of Willow Spring, N.C. During their term, board members travel the country assisting with shows and conferences, supporting juniors at state and national events and furthering the mission of the NJAA.

USCA attends roundtable

On July 13, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) participated in a meeting hosted by the White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss legislative competition priorities.

USCA Executive Vice President Lia Biondo, who attended the convening, stated, “Today’s discussion marks continued progress on the Biden-Harris Action Plan for a fairer, more competitive producer marketplace. Since its release in 2022, the action plan has guided administrative and legislative action to build a more resilient meat and poultry supply chain.”

“USCA is pleased with the Biden administration’s support of critical cattle market reform legislation, as outlined in the action plan,” Biondo continued. “A study compiled by Texas A&M University’s Agricultural and Food Policy Center forecasted, without enactment of legislation like the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, negotiated trade in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico is expected to fall to zero percent by 2026. Zero percent negotiated trade is a wholly, vertically consolidated industry.”

He concluded, “USCA looks forward to working with the Biden administration and Congress to build a better business climate for independent producers, as outlined in the action plan and discussed at today’s listening session.”

Executive director named

The Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts (WACD) and the Wyoming Natural Resource Foundation (WNRF) has named Holly Kennedy as the organization’s new executive director, with her tenure starting Aug. 7.

Kennedy currently serves as the assistant director for the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments, overseeing the Trust Land Management Division. At the Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments, Kennedy’s duties include managing a team of 14 individuals whose roles focus on real estate transactions to overseeing all leasing of state lands including agriculture, mineral, renewables and commercial.

Kennedy is a Wyoming native and a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a degree in agriculture business and a minor in communication. She currently resides in Laramie. Kennedy shares, “The most effective land management decisions occur at the local level. No one knows this or affects change more than Wyoming’s Conservation Districts. I look forward to joining them in promoting stewardship of our natural resources.”

BLM pauses decision

On July 13, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning said she directed her state offices to “implement” corner crossing, even though a high-profile Wyoming dispute over the act is headed for appeals court.

On July 14, the BLM walked it back.

“The BLM is reviewing the court’s decision and has not issued any new guidance regarding corner crossing,” the agency’s press secretary said in an e-mail to WyoFile

The about-face leaves the legality of corner crossing in limbo, especially on the nearly six million acres of “corner-locked” land the mapping app OnX has determined is managed by the BLM.

Corner crossing is the act of stepping from one parcel of public property kitty-corner to another without touching adjacent private land. It’s theoretically the only practical way to access millions of acres of public land in the West where the land ownership occurs in a checkerboard pattern of alternating public and private property.

This is the case for 2.44 million acres of Wyoming land, including some sections on the slopes of Elk Mountain. There, Missouri hunters Bradly Cape, Zach Smith and Phillip Yeomans unwittingly put corner-crossing’s legality to the test in 2020-21 when they stepped through the airspace above Fred Eshelman’s 22,045-acre Carbon County ranch without actually touching it.

Criminal charges against the three Missourians didn’t stick, and they prevailed in a civil case in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming. An appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, awaits.

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