A range war (taken from the term "open range") is a type of (typically undeclared) conflict that occurs in agrarian or stockrearing societies. Typically fought over water rights or grazing rights to unfenced/unowned land, it could pit competing farmers or ranchers against each other. Formal military involvement, other than to separate warring parties, is rare.
Range wars were known to occur in the American West. Many range wars in the United Stat...
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A range war (taken from the term "open range") is a type of (typically undeclared) conflict that occurs in agrarian or stockrearing societies. Typically fought over water rights or grazing rights to unfenced/unowned land, it could pit competing farmers or ranchers against each other. Formal military involvement, other than to separate warring parties, is rare.
Range wars were known to occur in the American West. Many range wars in the United States were fought by representatives of different industries, especially between cattle ranchers with a fixed base of operations and the more migratory sheep ranchers. Famous range wars included the Lincoln County War, the Pleasant Valley War, the Mason County War and the Johnson County Range War, fought between local residents and gunmen hired by absentee landowners.
Range wars have been the subject of movies and stories. Some examples:
While in previous centuries violence may have been involved, the term can also be used for non violent...
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