Range war


A range war is a type of usually violent conflict, most commonly in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the American West. The subject of these conflicts was control of "open range", or range land freely used for cattle grazing, which gave the conflict its name. Typically they were disputes over water rights or grazing rights and cattle ownership.
Range wars occurred prior to the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, which regulated grazing allotments on public land. Range wars included the Pleasant Valley War, Colfax County War, Castaic Range War, San Elizario Salt War, Mason County War, Barber–Mizell feud, Johnson County War, and others.

Range wars in literature and the arts

Range wars have been the subject of movies and novels. Some examples are:
While in previous centuries violence may have been involved, the term is now applied to nonviolent competition for scarce resources, such as between ranchers and environmentalists, or between ranchers and fans of wild horses.
A range war is also a slang term for a or disagreement about proper hierarchy or relationship and is often used in a joking manner. In this sense, the term is found in politics and business.