Opinion ID: 171698
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Stock Ownership

Text: Both the ALJ and the district court found sufficient evidence that Canyonlands owned livestock prior to obtaining a grazing permit from the BLM. We agree. As the ALJ found, Canyonlands acquired four cattle from its agreement to pay Mr. O'Driscoll's trespass fees. Aplt.App. 1358. The BLM would not approve the preference transfer until Mr. O'Driscoll's trespass fees were resolved. Canyonlands paid the trespass fees ($3,371.20) two days prior to the approval of the Last Chance and Big Bowns Bench allotments. Aplt. App. 516, 678-79. In exchange, Mr. O'Driscoll agreed that any of his remaining cattle would belong to Canyonlands. Id. at 516-18, 440-41. Though the agreement apparently was not in writing, the evidence suggests that the agreement was performed. Therefore, substantial evidence supports the finding that Canyonlands was in fact a stock owner and thus met the requirements to hold a grazing permit. Plaintiffs contend that Canyonlands cannot claim ownership of the stray cattle because Canyonlands's transaction with Mr. O'Driscoll did not include the sale of those cattle, making the transfer merely fortuitous. Aplt. Br. 42-22. The record, however, contains sufficient evidence to support a finding that Canyonlands did own these cattle following its agreement with Mr. O'Driscoll. See Aplt.App. 677 & 679 (Mr. Hedden's testimony that Canyonlands owned the four or five head that [it] had acquired by paying Mr. O'Driscoll's trespass fees and that those cattle would continue to graze on the Last Chance allotment); Aplee. Supp.App. 352 (Canyonlands check request to pay Mr. O'Driscoll's trespass fees), 467 (Mr. LeFevre testifying that he branded the abandoned cattle with the Canyonlands brand). Plaintiffs also argue, notably for the first time on appeal, that Canyonlands cannot claim ownership over the stray cattle because the transfer violates Utah law because no certificate of brand inspection is in the record and estray animals are to be taken into the possession of the county after attempts to locate the true owner. Aplt. Br. 42-44 (citing Utah Code Ann. §§ 4-24-11(1); 4-25-4(1); 4-25-5(1)). The government correctly maintains that these arguments should not be considered as they were not raised below. United States v. Jarvis, 499 F.3d 1196, 1201 (10th Cir.2007). Plaintiffs concede that the Utah statutory citations were not provided to the district court, but reply that the underlying discussion about whether the transfer was valid encompasses these theories. Aplt. Reply Br. 12-13. The record citations provided by the Plaintiffs admit of no specific claims like these and we decline to consider them. The government also argues that in the event Canyonlands did not own livestock, it was a stock owner because it was a start-up grazing operation. We need not address this issue because substantial evidence supports the finding that Canyonlands did own livestock prior to receiving grazing permits from the BLM.