cowboy express website
ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Elko County Commissioner Grant Gerber, a longtime lawyer and conservative political activist, has died from injuries he suffered three weeks ago when he fell off a horse in Kansas while protesting a federal crackdown on livestock grazing. He was 72.
Described by his allies as a freedom fighter, Gerber was surrounded by family and listening to his favorite songs when he died late Saturday at a Salt Lake City hospital, his son, Travis Gerber said.
Grant Gerber grew up roping horses in Elko County before he entered the U.S. Army. He was awarded the bronze star for his service in Vietnam and rose to the rank of captain of a Special Forces mountain climbing and ski team, his son said.
“Grant Gerber was a true patriot,” Nevada Assemblyman John Ellison told the Elko Daily Free Press (http://tinyurl.com/oloz7p3)
“Elko County lost one hell of a freedom fighter, a torchbearer for freedom,” added county Commission Chairman Charlie Myers.
Over the past two decades, Gerber was at the forefront of the fight for private property and states’ rights, beginning in the 1990s with a battle with the U.S. Forest Service over protection of the threatened bull trout and access to a national forest road near the Nevada-Idaho line.
Ex-Assemblyman John Carpenter helped him organize the “Shovel Brigade” that defied the Forest Service, using picks and shovels to reopen the road to Jarbidge by hand on July 4, 2000. He said that will be part of Gerber’s legacy.
“The road’s open and it’s going to stay open, no question about that,” Carpenter said Sunday.
In recent years, Gerber focused on ranchers’ rights, opposing the listing of the sage grouse as a threatened species and promoting a “Smoked Bear” advertising campaign that argued federal cutbacks on grazing were fueling wildfire threats at the expense of deer and other wildlife on public lands.
Gerber was leading the “Grass March/Cowboy Express” horseback ride from California to Washington, D.C., when his horse stumbled on a prairie dog hole in Kansas and he was knocked unconscious, Travis Gerber said. He said his father was examined and released from a hospital in St. Louis, and completed the journey to the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 16.
He was on his way home last week when he complained of nagging headaches and checked into a hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Doctors discovered internal bleeding, and he was transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City where he underwent surgery on Thursday.
“He was an exceptional man,” he said, “but we know his spirit lives on.”
On the cowboy express website, here are a few of the comments about this wonderful man:
…“Grant passed last night at 11 pm. He was surrounded by his family telling stories of his life, listening to his favorite old country songs, with his hat and boots nearby. Grant was an exceptional man, but we know his spirit lives on. Thank you all for the outpouring of thoughts and prayers. Grant is truly loved and will be missed by all.”…
…“I’m so sad hearing of grants’s passing. He was a wonderful man. He died for a cause he felt strongly about may his family find solace in that. My heartfelt prayers are with his family. He has moved on to greener pastures and may God receive him with open arms. Rest in peace, Grant.”
…”We lost a huge supporter of our Western heritage.
Our deepest condolences to the Gerber family. Ride on Grant the Lord gained an Angel.
For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon thousand hills….”
…”There are no words……only tears and memories”…
…”Sorry to hear this:( may his family and friends have strength at this time. May his last memory be that he died doing something that he believed was right for the ranchers near and far. Ride on Grant.”…
…”Elko county has lost a strong wonderful man.”…
…”It only makes me wonder what trouble there must be in heaven with grazing rights for the good lord to call back such a great person but I’m sure Grant is right in the middle of it…”
…”This is a great loss to the State of Nevada. Grant generously gave of himself to make Nevada and our entire Country a better place!”…
…”Elko Co and the state of Nevada lost a great man, citizen and patriot last night. Grant’s legacy will live on in his family, friends and with the other patriots that will carry the torch of freedom he left for us…”…
…”We will truly miss him! Heaven has received another Great Spirit! May his spirit be remembered throughout all our lives, and that we may grow stronger for knowing such a Great Man!”…
…”Happy Trails Cowboy. Thanks for riding for freedom. May God Bless those you left behind to carry on.”…
…”He was a true American cowboy with a great cause! We here in Catharpin VA will miss him. He was a lot of fun for the few short days we met and we dearly have lost a true friend. We will meet again cowpoke and ride a long way. God Bless you!”…
…”it was truly an honor to ride from Winnemucca to Carson City with Grant and on the cowboy express he went out with a bang doing what he loved in what he believed in”…
…”Grant was a fighter, with the heart of a lion and the tenacity of a bulldog. He was always in my corner, and I know many others felt the same.”…
…”We only had the pleasure of knowing Grant for a little while. We became acquainted during the grass march in Lander County. Grant made a grand impression on us. His stories were wonderful. We will miss him.”…
