1994

Catron County Ordinance: In November 1994, in an outgrowth of the "Sagebrush Rebellion" in several Western states, Chelan County Commissioners vote 2-1 to adopt the Catron County (N.M.) Ordinance. It calls for local governments to have co-equal authority to manage federal land. "The effect of the movement is to curtail government’s ability to protect the environment,”writes CDLT Board member Pat Rasmussen. Chelan County prosecutor Gary Riesen and Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire say the ordinance is unenforceable under the Washington State Constitution. Eventually, it "just sort of died away," says Eliot Scull.