04/24/08 Cowboys take on Uncle Sam, part 2

When the BLM wanted to control water rights that ranchers like Tim Lowry and Paul Nettleton depended on the two Owyhee County ranchers went to court ten years ago. NETTLETON "First they told us 40 thousand and then they said it would be more like fifty. You know, they should have known better because they know how the government works. We didn't." Nettleton found out about government litigation, stalls and appeals and a legal bill that ended up at one and a half million dollars. EVANS "They should be rewarded for their courage. They have paved the way for a lot of other ranchers in Idaho." Attorney Elizabeth Evans though the court should have awarded legal fees. Lowry says through it all, they wouldn't quit because they were right. LOWRY "We've got a water right now. That's never happened before. It's a precedent and I'm not real familiar with the law but at this point I would think anybody could us that precedent." And Lowry says that debt won't stop them either. LOWRY "I see it as a setback. I don't see it as anything fatal. We're going to make it through someway. God willing we'll be here for another 140 years or whatever." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott