Overgrazing claim riles up candidate for governor

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Bureau of Land Management is starting the process to impound the cattle owned by Mineral County rancher David G. Holmgren, the Independent American Party candidate for governor.

BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said today Holmgren and his wife, Jackie, are responsible for overgrazing the land on their 500,000-acre Rawhide Ranch with about 500 head of cattle. They have a permit to put only 150 head on the range during the summer, she said.

Simpson said a helicopter count was made Thursday and that a notice to impound the cattle would be issued soon. She said the BLM prefers that the Holmgrens voluntarily comply.

Impounding the cattle, she said, would be "a last resort."

Friends and supporters of the Holmgrens gathered at the ranch, and Jackie Holmgren said there would be a peaceful protest.

"It's time to take a stand in defense of life, liberty and property," Jackie Holmgren said. "God Save Nevada."

Although they lease the land from the BLM, the Holmgrens say they own the water rights.

Simpson said the Holmgren spread has a permit to graze up to 900 cattle during the winter months and 150 during the summer. She said the land won't sustain more than 150 head in the summer months.

The BLM, Simpson said, has issued 700 grazing permits in Nevada, and only one percent of those ranchers are abusing the land.

Jackie Holmgren said the land is so sparse that one cow must graze over 1,000 acres for its feed.

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