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A range war (taken from the term "open range") is a type of (typically undeclared) conflict that occurs in agrarian or stockrearing societies. Typically fought over water rights or grazing rights to unfenced/unowned land, it could pit competing farmers or ranchers against each other. Range wars were known to occur in the American West. See, for example, the Johnson County Range War of Wyoming. The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ...
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in Johnson County, Wyoming, in the Powder River Country, in April, 1892. ...
Actual formal military involvement (other than perhaps to separate warring parties) is rare.
While in previous centuries violence may have been involved[1], the term can also be used for non violent contention for scarce resources, perhaps between ranchers and environmentalists[2], or between ranchers and fans of wild horses[3].
Range wars in literature and the arts
Range wars have been the subject of movies and stories. Some examples (not an exhaustive list): - Range War (IMDB entry) is a 1939 movie (featuring Hopalong Cassidy) about a group of ranchers in conflict with a railway company.
- Shane is a 1953 movie (featuring Alan Ladd) that tells the story of a gunfighter taking the side of the farmers against cattlemen during a fictional range war loosely based on the Johnson County Range War.
Hopalong Cassidy #30, April 1949, published by Fawcett Comics. ...
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Alan Walbridge Ladd, Jr. ...
Usage in slang A range war is also a slang term for a turf war or disagreement about proper hierarchy or relationship and is often used in a joking manner. The term can be used in politics[4], or business[5].
Notes and references - ^ For example, from the Santa Clarita Valley History site (sourced from the Los Angeles Times): "The violent, long-running Jenkins-Chormicle feud, which started in 1890 over a boundary dispute, is a colorful and cruel saga — part fact, part myth — of barn burnings, ambushes and gun battles on horseback. It lasted more than two decades." describes a Southern California range war that started in 1890.
- ^ For example, from the U of Idaho Range Management site telling of conflict in Idaho: " Range wars continue, just as they did a century ago, between those who have grazing rights and those who do not. Today these range wars pit ranchers, with state grazing leases, against the environmental groups that are trying to restore the grazing lease areas to a healthy and pristine land. The weapons have changed from the cold steel of a gun to the amount of cold hard cash a rancher or an environmental group will pay for a piece of land."
- ^ For example, from the MSNBC site, telling of Bureau of Land Management policy changes and impacts: "The mustangs' current troubles come thanks in part to another Western icon: cattle ranchers. There are currently 37,000 mustangs sharing public rangelands with several million head of cattle. The result has been overgrazing, exacerbated by six years of drought. To restore the land, the BLM has cut the number of cattle allowed, and ranchers say the horses and burros have to be pared substantially. "If we don't receive relief, and soon, we'll be out of business," Lemoille, Nev., rancher Kenneth Jones"
- ^ For example, the Irregular Times site describes a disagreement among Democratic Party regulars in upstate New York as a "range war". In this case the "unfenced territory" is an election district, and the hearts and minds of Democratic party regulars
- ^ For example, the Mac Observer site characterises the conflict between IBM and SCO as a "range war". In this case, the "unfenced territory" is the Unix/Linux marketplace, and the hearts and minds of technical, purchase influencing, IT people.
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