This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I lived in Texas for a few years. I listened to agricultural radio there. They would complain about the great deal Western ranchers got. The cheap grazing fees on federal lands are regarded as a federal subsidy for ranchers. Owning land is costly. The fees don't come close to actual costs.
Our whining ranchers don't understand squatters rights, either. Since the land owner (you and me) has a contract allowing them to use the land for a (super low) price, that is where their rights begin and end.
I recently found evidence of someone residing in a shed on some property we own. The lock had been pried off. I called Volunteers of America homeless outreach to contact them and offer appropriate shelter options. I followed up with a note of my own to take their things and leave. Then a new lock.
How did our ranchers arrive at such an entitlement mentality? Why don't we charge them a fair price?
Tangent: Hunters, think. If our federal lands are sold to private interests, your hunting grounds will shrink and you will have to pay the new owners for what you now enjoy for the price of a license.
Rosalie Bergeson Petersen
Bountiful