Walker v. United States

66 Fed. Cl. 57, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 146, 2005 WL 1308645
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided May 31, 2005·No. No. 04-155L·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BRADEN, Judge.

RELEVANT FACTS1

Plaintiffs Roy and Shellie Walker own and raise cattle on the Walker Ranch in Grant [58] County, New Mexico. See Walker Deck H 27; see also Compl. HU 4, 12-13. The Walker Ranch consists of 40 acres of land that is the base property2 for two grazing allotments3 in the Gila National Forest administered by the United States Forest Service (“U.S. Forest Service”).4 See Compl. HU 8-9. The Walkers purchased the base property and rights to the Hot Springs and Cold Springs Allotments (hereinafter collectively “allotments”) in two separate transactions. On September 26, 1994, the Walkers purchased 160 acres of land from Louis and Myrtle Oliver, together with a U.S. Forest Service grazing permit5 issued September 10, 1985 “allowing [the Walkers] to graze 160 head of mother cows year long on [the Cold Springs Allotment].” Walker Deck U 7; Walker Deck Ex. F; see also Compl. HU 8-9. On September 26, 1994, the Walkers also sold the 160 acres back to Louis and Myrtle Oliver, but retained the grazing permit and the rights to use the Cold Springs Allotment. See Walker Deck H 8. Subsequently, on December 28, 1994, the Walkers purchased 40 acres of land and the Hot Springs Allotment from Crecen-cio and Neline Dominguez.6 See Walker Deck Ex. A; see also Compl. H 8. As a result of these two transactions, the Walkers contend that they obtained all water, range, forage, and access rights, as well as the range improvements, on the allotments. See Walker Deck 111121-23; see also Walker Deck Ex. A-B, E-G; Compl. UH 8,10. The Walker Ranch used water from the allotments as part of cattle operations. See Walker Deck HU 28-29.

On March 23, 1995, the U.S. Forest Service issued the Walkers a Ten Year Term Grazing Permit, No. 06-1099 (“grazing permit”) that allowed year-long grazing of 265 head of cattle and eight horses on the Hot Springs and Cold Springs Allotments covering approximately 17,826 acres within the Gila National Forest.7 See Walker Deck H 30; see also Def. Ex. 1 (grazing permit); Def. Ex. 2 (Declaration of District Ranger Gerald Engel (“Engel Deck”)) H 6. On April 30, 1996, in response to complaints about dead and sick cattle on the allotments, the U.S. Forest Service inspected the allotments. See Def. Ex. 3-4. On May 13,1996, the U.S. Forest Service conducted a second inspection to confirm that grass on the allotments had been decimated by overgrazing and drought conditions. See Def. Ex. 4 at 18. Mike Head, the Range Conservationist who conducted the inspections, suggested that the “Boundary and Hot Springs pastures be rested 12 months [to allow] the grass plants, [forage] and riparian species a chance to recover from the heavy grazing and droughth [sic] conditions that have existed [in 1996].” Id.

On May 14, 1996, District Ranger Engel convened a meeting with Roy Walker, Wade Kemp, Manager of the Walker Ranch, Mike Head, and officials from the New Mexico Environment Department, to discuss the drought-related problems on the allotments. See Def. Ex. 5. On May 16, 1996, District Ranger Engel wrote a letter to Roy Walker [59] that instructed him first to remove sick cattle from canyon bottoms and then begin removing all livestock to allow the allotments to recover:

As we discussed, you need to take immediate action to start gathering and removing the cattle that are hanging in the bottoms. I know this will be a tough chore since these animals are very weak and in poor condition, but I don’t feel you have any choice but to start removing livestock from the allotment.
ijs :je sjc if: ^
From what I have seen on two recent inspection rides on your allotment, it is highly probable that you will end up totally removing all livestock from the allotment before the end of the summer. I know that these are extreme measures that I am instructing you to take, but conditions are such that there is only enough feed and water left on the allotment to support a very limited number of animals.
sj< :£ :•«
[I] see no other alternative but for you to immediately start whatever action you feel is appropriate to facilitate the removal of livestock from the allotment and start gathering and removing your cattle, especially the ones in very poor condition.

Def. Ex. 6 at 21.

At a June 21,1996 meeting, District Ranger Engel again advised Roy Walker that additional cattle needed to be removed from the pastures in order to let the grazing areas recover, even though the herd had been reduced from 265 to 190. See Def. Ex. 7 at 23; see also Def. Ex. 9 at 26. District Ranger Engel and Roy Walker agreed to “ride the allotment together very soon to look at management options.” Def. Ex. 7 at 23. Instead, on July 3, 1996, Roy Walker advised District Ranger Engel that he could not accompany him on the inspection. See Def. Ex. 8 at 24-25. And, on July 8, 1996, District Ranger Engel received a letter from Roy Walker declaring:

I am the owner of the allotment(s) and your only authority over the surface estate is derived from my having entered into a cooperative grazing agreement (known as a grazing permit) with the Forest Service. Under the Acts of July 26, 1866, and May 10, 1872, Congress “confirmed” and “sanctioned” my predecessor’s possessory right to the surface estate of my ranch. Thereafter, the only authority the United States had over my ranch was the power of “survey”, After the Cold and Hot Springs Allotments were surveyed, or the boundaries defined, my “title” to the surface estate became perfect. It is only because of the existence of the cooperative grazing “permit” agreement presently in force that the Forest Service has any say whatsoever over my allotments. If you persist in your ridiculous demands that I reduce my cattle numbers ... then YOU will have broken the original permit agreement, and that agreement will be void and of no force and effect. Additionally, I am putting you on notice that I am canceling the permit agreement because of your continuous harassment aimed at trying to financially destroy my property interest in my ranch “allotments.” The one thing you say in your letter of July 1, 1996 that I agree with is that “this reduction in numbers will put a financial burden” on me. In fact, I will take that statement as a clear admission on your part that a reduction of my cattle numbers to 100 head will be a regulatory taking of my entire ranch against my will. If you persist in your efforts to force me to remove any more cattle from my ranch I will bring legal action to recover money damages in the U.S. Court of Claims.

Def. Ex. 9 at 26 (emphasis in original).

On July 23, 1996, District Ranger Engel responded. See Def. Ex. 10 at 28-29. On August 5, 1996, Roy Walker again claimed ownership of all surface rights on the allotments and characterized the permit as a “cooperative agreement:”

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Walker v. United States, 66 Fed. Cl. 57, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 146, 2005 WL 1308645 (uscfc 2005).

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