January 10, 2008
Grazing Board Holds annual Meeting

Photo by Dave Maxwell N-4 Grazing Board members at their meeting in Pioche. Board member Ed Higbee was absent.

By Dave Maxwell

Gathering for their annual meeting, in Pioche January 4, the N-4 Grazing Board wrestled with the question of who is eligible to be on the 10-man board and who is eligible to vote for those on the Board?

The main issue centered on a legal question of what does the word “hold” mean in matters of leases and permits? After much discussion, the board passed a resolution to send an official letter to State Attorney General, Catherine Cortez-Masto, asking for a formal written opinion that expresses the opinion of the State of Nevada regarding four questions:

• Who is eligible to vote to elect permittees to the grazing board?
• An interpretation of the words “holding a license.”
• Is the license held by a leasee or is the license held by a deeded base?
• When a board member “no longer represents that allotment or that permit, should he/she automatically resign from the board?”

Some of the board members pointed out that the N-4 board itself is able to make the determination of who is eligible to serve on the board as stated in NRS section 568.060 from 1975 regarding qualifications of members. Part of that section reads: “The particular state grazing board shall supply the names of eligible persons to be elected to serve on the board to each permittee within the district so that each permittee may cast his vote for a candidate of his choice.”

Concerns are that the Southern Nevada Water Authority will buy up more and more ranches, grazing and water rights, and stack the board with those who favor taking all the water to Las Vegas.

Discussion was also held on a suggestion by Board member, Dean Baker, that the N-4 board should require, prior to the election of new board members, a list of names that any given lease owner wanted to submit as candidates for election to the board. That way, the general membership would know in advance what candidate was going to represent any given entity. In addition, any entity that might own multiple leases would still be allowed to submit only one candidate for election to the board. This would be a way of curtailing an entity of trying to stack the board.

It was decided that the matter needed to be an action item for the 2009 meeting of the N-4 Grazing Board, to be held in Ely.

Board members are:

• Dean Baker, Baker
• Gracian Uhalde, Ely
• Brent Eldridge, Ely
• Merlin Flake, Spring Valley
• Jeff Gardner, Lund
• Pete Goicoechea, Eureka
• Pete Paris, Spring Creek
• Dave Eldridge, Baker
• Hank Fogler, Ely
• Ed Higbee, Alamo
• Secretary – Connie Simkins
• Executive Secretary – Bill Davidson, McGill