Rancher Hate Mail: Mike, The West Belongs To The Sheople For Bird Watchers

Mandeville, LA  – If you have frequented this space you know that I have received some of the most remarkable hate mail transmitted since the computer age. Today’s edition takes the grand prize for rudeness AND misanthropy meaning our letter writer is one heckuva an angry female, recently discharged from the Gal Queda 420th Panzer Division. My response is included.

On Apr 15, 2014, at 1:25 PM, Julie C. (redacted by Editor) wrote:

(N.B. posted exactly as received and formatted) – There are a few radio talk show hosts that I consider to be reasonable, educated people, offering a forum for conversation and opinion not based on promoting ratings through controversy and civil unrest. You Mike Church, are not one of them. Your lack of knowledge on the western states, the western states lifestyle, cattle ranching, managing range lands and the BLM are glaring apparent through numerous comments you have made. There have been many “wars” fought in the west over land and water (the Lincoln County War, the Johnson County War, the Mason County War, the Pleasant Valley War, etc.) I link the two because they are related issues. The BLM does not own land, they manage land owned by the tax paying citizens of this country, this includes you. The purpose of the BLM is to manage these lands to insure their future use for all citizens, ranchers, hunters, sheepherders, outdoor enthusiasts, bird watchers, photographers, campers, etc.The fees paid by users of the land managed by the BLM are necessary. They pay for the administration of this land, but also for the improvements to it. Any rancher that wants to graze his cattle on public land need only apply for use and pay the fee. Based on the land itself, the use of any particular piece of land is managed so as not to adversely affect the existing wildlife in the area, but also to insure it’s use in future seasons. This is where my reference to “range wars” comes in. When a rancher decides that he is going to disregard the citizens of this country’s rights to a reasonable expectation of proper management and preservation of public land, he not only violates our rights, he creates an environment of abuses on many levels. After decades of range land deterioration, conflicts between cattle ranchers and migratory sheepherders, jurisdictional disputes and states rights debates, dust from the worst storms in the nation’s history settled on Washington DC. Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. I was born and raised in the west. I’ve made a number of visits to eastern states. The first visit, I admit was a shock. So many people crowded in together. The differences between daily life patterns, basic culture and thought process were huge. I enjoy my visits to the east, but always look forward to going home to my wide open spaces. The BLM manages approximately two and a half million acres of land, about one-eight of the landmass of this country. Most public lands are located in the western states. I understand that you are in Louisiana. I don’t expect you to understand the concept of trying to manage that much land. I do expect you to try to educate yourself on the process though. Bundy has not only violated the rights of the citizens of this country as the property owners of public land, he is in violation of the law. I hold no sympathy for Bundy. You recently, on air, referred to an educated man from Utah (who incidentally is my brother) as a clown. The only uneducated Bozo I can see is you.
Julie, Wyoming

MY RESPONSE

Dear Julie,
I have over 100 letters to counter your personally biased argument. I presented the facts as they are known and even had politicians dealing with these issues phone the show to directly counter what you have so piously snorted herein.
That land wasn’t purchased for a bunch of bird watching granola bar choppers, if you want to see the birds, go buy your own land. That land was negotiated after a bloody war via a treaty specifically to provide places for the expanding westward population to homestead, form communities, draw borders, petition for statehood, draw constitutions then gain admission to the union at which point the land was to be distributed via sale, not “preserved” for its own sake.
I DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO THE LAND IN NV, nor do I desire any, madame. I wish for private property owners and in extreme cases for the city, county or state to “own” the land.
If your brother was the arrogant individual sneering down his nose at agrarians as “likely to abuse the land so NO species could ever live on it”: I wear your derogation as a badge of honor.
By the by, for the record, unlike you, I never professed to be a know it all and in fact confess to not knowing it all but am always in pursuit of more knowledge. This was part of the discussion on air the last three days as the rest of the country, listening in, learn of issues they weren’t familiar with before. We used to call that sharing, breaking bread over issues et cetera, thanks to you, I’ll just call it angering the misanthropes of the West.
You, madame, are indeed, a misanthrope of the highest caliber. You must have been one heckuva foot soldier in Molly Yard’s army of Gal Queda warriors.

Good Day, and anon,

Mike Church

p.s. (post scriptum for the uneducated) I plan to publish your letter and invite others you must be sneering at right now who listened with great emotion and applause, weigh their opinions on your diatribe.

p.p.s. Carriage returns and paragraphs, use them.

===========UPDATED=============

“Julie” responds.

Sir, I think you have missed the point, and name calling does not validate your argument. Public lands are owned by the public, which includes you and myself. Public lands are managed by the BLM with the goal of preserving and improving them for future use. They are an essential and necessary part of life in many areas. Not just for granola eating birdwatchers, as you inferred, but also cattle ranchers and sheepherders, who contribute to feeding and clothing our country. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 effectively ended homesteading in the Dakota’s and the western states. The Homesteading Act was officially repealed in 1976. My point, was that if Bundy wants to graze his cattle on public land, he needs to apply for a permit and pay the fee. Just like thousands of other ranchers. He is not exempt from this process. Grazing his cattle illegally on public land does impact not only the quality of the land, but also the ranchers who did legally obtain permits.  So, no I still do not have any sympathy for Bundy, who has for years been doing this illegally and now doesn’t want to face the consequences of his actions. Inciting protests will not make what he’s done legal.

I respond to Julie.

Madam,
Legal according to whom? Do you always become a harpy when the magisterial federal edifice is involved? There is every legal element needed for someone other than a federal magistrate to rule in Mr Bundy’s, and the 82 other ranchers shafted by your precious BLM and authoritarian Kings, favor.
Misanthrope is descriptive of your mood, you just made good on my keen assessment of it. You might try beginning poorly punctuated notes to people you don’t know without the insults hurled my way. I will add your latest screed to the well-trafficked post bearing your redacted name, a result of manners I wish others to use in their discourse.

Anon,

Mike Church

p.s. It is customary in the South to sign your compositions, just sayin’.