Western ranchers have traditionally fed well at the trough of Federal beneficence.

Like many Western ranchers of the era, the owners quickly discovered that Easterners were willing to pay large sums of money to play cowboy.

You can get all the beef - or buffalo meat - you want from Western ranchers.

With beef prices low, many Western ranchers already have their financial backs to the wall.

Western ranchers in highly coveted mountain valleys realize that new times demand new tools to preserve open spaces and their way of life.

There are still rumblings about the restoration plan in Congress, reflecting worries among Western ranchers.

And if conservative judges continue to have their way, Western ranchers won't be able to sue predatory corporations.

Western ranchers who lease land were seen as environmental 'despoilers.'

Remember, Western ranchers, who on average make only $28,000 a year, didn't ask to be neighbors with Federal lands.

Interest, and investment, in exotic animals are fueled by several forces pressuring Western ranchers.