Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins threatened to intervene to defend a Washington ranch against allegations by state regulators that it illegally filled in wetlands in arid Central Washington. The Trump administration “will not sit idly by” as ranchers Wade and Teresa King are penalized for maintaining stock-water ponds, Rollins said in a Dec. 9 letter to two state leaders. “This war on agriculture must stop,” she said in the letter addressed to Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller and Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove. Trending Stakeholder proposal for Harney groundwater rejected by Oregon regulators Trump announces $12 billion farm relief package “USDA is reviewing funding it provides to the state of Washington and any institutions within it that may be weaponized against farmers and ranchers such as the Kings,” Rollins wrote. Rollins’ letter steps up her charges that the Kings are being prosecuted for the common ranching practice in the West of digging out ponds for cattle. In early November, Rollins posted on social media the USDA was looking into the case. Ecology alleges that excavating the watering holes damaged rare alkali wetlands in Grant and Douglas counties. The department fined the ranch $267,540 in 2023. The Kings are appealing the fine to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. In the wake of the fine, the Department of Natural Resources canceled two grazing leases the King ranch had held for 60 years. The Kings are suing in federal court to regain the leases. “I hope that the secretary’s letter will cause the agencies to realize the seriousness of what they’re doing to agriculture,” said Toni Meacham, one of the Kings’ attorneys. “We hope we can win this one for everyone in agriculture,” she said. State responds Trending Rollins attacks California farmland ‘equity’ report Washington’s cap-and-trade tax reaches new high Sixkiller said in a statement Ecology has tried to resolve the matter with the Kings. “USDA’s letter is misleading and reflects a total disregard of the facts involved in this case,” he said. “It’s inappropriate for USDA’s leadership to interfere with a state issue and threaten federal funding that supports Washington’s agriculture industry, critical research and families.” DNR spokesman Michael Kelly said in an email the department “values the strong relationships we have with the vast majority of ranchers who lease state lands.” “We work hard to maintain these relationships every day,” he said. In addition, the state attorney general’s office launched a criminal investigation, according to the Kings’ attorneys. The office has said it doesn’t confirm whether it’s conducting an investigation. Rollins accused the attorney general of pursuing a “secretive criminal action behind closed doors without any ability for the Kings to defend.” The fine and legal fees are threatening the ranch’s existence, Rollins wrote. The case sets a dangerous precedent for Washington ranches, she stated. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service determined in July the ranch did not disturb wetlands. “These manmade structures eventually start filling back up with sediment and need to be cleaned out,” Rollins wrote. “Targeting a ranch for actively maintaining a manmade farm pond is not only wrong, but impermissible under state and federal law.”

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