The notion of an open range evokes memories of the Old West, when cattle freely grazed on public land and cowboys drove herds cross-country to the stockyards.

The nation’s open range dates back to the Civil War. It allowed ranchers to graze their cattle on public land in Texas and elsewhere.

Then, in 1934, Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act, which created grazing districts and began to control grazing on public land.

On open range, cattle may run at large. Fences are generally used to keep cattle off property.

In a livestock district, cattle must be fenced in.

The end of the cattle drives was nearing as fences went up on public and private land around the West.

But open range remains in many parts of the region.

In Oregon, open range still exists in three entire counties — Grant, Harney and Lake. In 23 counties, livestock districts and open range co-exist, and 10 counties are livestock districts, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

Some states that have open range, including Idaho, specifically exempt livestock owners from a “duty” to keep their cattle or sheep off roads. Further, state law says that livestock owners cannot be found negligent if a car runs into a cow or sheep.

Fast forward to Sept. 26, 2019. It is nearly midnight, and a Chevrolet Suburban is traveling on Interstate 84 through open range in Eastern Oregon.

Cattle that had been fenced nearby escaped and wandered onto the roadway, and it didn’t work out well for them or for the Suburban and its two occupants, who were injured in the collision.

They sued the ranchers who owned the cattle, seeking about $95,000 for their medical bills, pain and suffering and damage to the Suburban.

The judge in the case, Umatilla County Circuit Judge Eva Temple, ruled that the state’s open range law protected the ranchers from liability for the accident.

“The court assumes that if the legislature had intended livestock owners to be held liable for cattle escaping onto the interstate, it could have and would have used specific language forbidding persons from allowing or permitting livestock to enter the interstate right of way,” she said.

The Oregon Court of Appeals agreed. In a ruling this month, the judges said that the folks in the Suburban didn’t have a legal basis to sue the ranchers. While state law prohibits ranchers from using highways, this was a case of cattle getting out of a fenced area and onto open range and trying to cross the highway on their own, according to the court.

While we sympathize with the folks who were involved in this accident, the open range is alive and well in parts of Oregon and elsewhere in the West. Driver beware.