Ranchers’ elk lawsuit rejected

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:23 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A district judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Elko County ranchers who complained their grazing and water holes were damaged when the state released 127 elk on public lands in the Spruce Mountain area.

Judge Richard Wagner said the four state employees who were sued were immune from liability. The four, who included state Conservation and Natural Resources Director Peter Morros and Wildlife Administrator Willie Molini, were acting within the scope of their authority, the judge said.

The lawsuit was brought by Sorenson Livestock Inc., Cliff and Bertha Gardner and the OX Ranch. All hold grazing permits on public lands about 80 miles south of Wells from the Bureau of Land Management.

Morros said Tuesday this was another chapter in the "home rule" fight between Elko County on one side and the state and federal government on the other. "They (the ranchers) claimed we were infringing on the use of their rights," Morros said.

Morros said some ranchers can't adjust to the changing times.

In addition to Morros and Molini, wildlife employees Larry Barngrover and Larry Gilbertson also were sued.

Molini and Barngrover were named in a report by the Elko grand jury which accused them of pressuring a mining company to pay $500,000 to the state -- a charge they denied. The case is before the Nevada Supreme Court on a motion by the state to wipe out portions of the grand jury report that makes the allegation.

David Horton, attorney for the three ranches, said the elk case "is far from over." He said he will ask Judge Wagner to strike his order and to reconsider the complaint. The dismissal came before a trial.

The ranchers say the elk compete with cattle on public and private lands for food and water. Elk also can transmit bang disease into the cattle herds which can take as long as three years to eradicate, Horton said. The combination hurts the cattle ranchers' business, he said.

Molini said 127 elk from Oregon and Utah were released into the area through a program to revive the herds. Elk are favorites of the viewing public and eventually hunting will be allowed.

Molini and Morros said the state officials went through all the hearing processes and involved the livestock industry with the release plans.

Judge Wagner rejected the claims of the ranchers the state Wildlife Commission never followed its rules and violated the Nevada Constitution in the approving the elk release.

Wagner said the "decision to reintroduce elk onto public lands in Elko County involves no-rule making" and therefore there is no violation of the state's administrative procedures act.

The wildlife commission, he said, has the power to establish policies for the protection, restoration, transplanting, introduction and management of wildlife.

The lawsuit wanted the elk removed from the lands, but the judge said only the state, and not the four individuals, can do that.

The ranchers, the judge said, failed to follow the proper procedures when there was damage to their lands by the elk. There's a law that allows a landowner to apply for compensation for damage of up to $10,000 without approval of the commission. In turn the ranchers could seek more than $10,000 by getting approval of the commission, but they never sought the money.