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The Story Of Kleppe V. New Mexico: The Sagebrush Rebellion As Un-Cooperative Federalism, Robert L. Fischman, Jeremiah I. Williamson

University of Colorado Law Review

federal power advancing national conservation objectives collided with traditional, local economic interests on public lands in the 1970s. This Article connects that history with current approaches to natural resources federalism. New Mexico challenged the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which diminished both state jurisdiction and rancher influence over public rangelands. In response, the Supreme Court resoundingly approved federal authority to reprioritize uses of the public resources, including wildlife, and spurred a lasting backlash in the West. Further legislation passed in the wake of Kleppe transformed this unrest into a political movement, the Sagebrush Rebellion. Though Kleppe failed to undermine …