Ranching Interests and Anti-Government Politics in the Sagebrush-Era West

• In Event: Extraction, Extremism, and the Environment: Using Land the (Far) Right Way

Abstract

In 1979, the Nevada legislature passed an assembly bill to transfer federal public lands to state ownership, triggering similar movements throughout America’s western states that called itself the Sagebrush Rebellion. Ranching interests supporting the Rebellion placed their ire on environmentalists and environmental legislation, whose new regulations over grasslands, endangered species, and protected animals seemingly threatened grazer’s livelihoods. This paper argues for a more nuanced understanding of the political dynamics facing ranchers: Anti-government sentiment among ranching interests reflects combined problems of global consolidation in the beef industry, expanding urban development, new appetites for outdoor recreation, and rural population loss that caused a collapse in their ability to influence state politics. While Nevada is often the center of the Sagebrush Rebellion story, this paper also turns its focus to the Northern Plains, where similar political commitments emerged and reflects a different range of priorities, interests, and concerns.

Author

• Jason Heppler, George Mason University