Our Story

Stewards of the Range

Our executive director, Margaret Byfield was raised on Pine Creek Ranch in Central Nevada where the federal government owns 83 percent of the State. Her family was targeted by environmentalists and endured 13 years of unprecedented regulatory harassment. Then, in 1991, Wayne and Jean Hage filed the first federal lands grazing takings’ case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims – Hage v. United States.

The family spent 27 years in court where they fended off two criminal charges brought by the government pressuring them to drop the landmark case. They also prevailed in State Court after the government filed claims to their water rights. Finally, after three federal trials, the U.S. Claims Court awarded the family $14.4 million for the taking of their property under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It was a resounding victory for landowners.

However, it was erased by the D.C. Circuit who overturned the judgment claiming the case was not ripe and the family did not have standing. They lost everything. They never received a penny of compensation. They no longer own the ranch.

This is why Stewards of the Range was founded in 1992 and the American Land Foundation (ALF) in 1994 — to help protect Americans from these types of attacks.

American Land Foundation

ALF was founded by our Chairman, Mike Dail and CEO, Dan Byfield who are seasoned defenders of private property rights. After finishing law school, Dan went to work for a Texas State Senator and was later hired by the Farm Credit Bank of Texas to lobby on behalf of their landowners.

Mike Dail was the Bank Manager for the Mason, Texas branch, and together they created a non-profit funded by the bank and its partners to help support smaller organizations like Stewards. They produced two highly acclaimed documentaries, “People, Property & Power” and “Standing Ground,” which brought much needed national attention to the property rights issues in the early 1990s.