Range war: Rancher stands defiant as BLM moves to impound ‘trespass cattle’

BLM ranger trucks gathered by an area designated for the press, Clark County, Nev., April 1, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News

BUNKERVILLE, Nev. – A range war is unfolding in southeastern Nevada. Federal agencies are at odds with 67-year-old Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy. The Bureau of Land Management maintains that Bundy’s cattle have been trespassing on government-owned public lands ever since the he stopped paying grazing permit fees 20 years ago. For his part, the lifelong rancher has chosen not to recognize the authority of the BLM. He believes the agency to be unconstitutional and in violation of state sovereignty.

In 1998 the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, ordered Bundy to remove his trespassing cattle from federal lands. A similar order was issued in July 2013 and gave the rancher 45 days to remove his cattle or face having them seized, impounded, and ultimately sold at auction. This order was followed by another one in October 2013, again giving Bundy 45 days to remove the offending cattle, but also adding that he couldn’t physically interfere with the impoundment action.

This whole affair started in 1993 when Bundy did not accept a grazing permit from the BLM that had been modified to protect the desert tortoise. As a result he stopped paying permit fees and the BLM canceled his grazing permit. A few years later, the BLM completely closed the Bunkerville grazing allotment and established it as desert tortoise habitat. As evidenced over the last two decades, however, Bundy’s cattle have continued to roam and graze on a range supposedly no longer open to his use.

BLM officials have described impounding Bundy’s cattle as a last resort to a long-standing problem.

BLM: Cattle rustling or resolving a longstanding issue?

The BLM and (National) Park Service tried to resolve this matter over the 20 years,” said Kirsten Cannon, public affairs specialist with the BLM’s southern Nevada field office.

Last week the BLM and NPS announced it was temporarily closing off portions of Clark County to the public as it conducted impound operations within those areas. The total area covers 600,000 acres and is overseen by the BLM, NPS and Bureau of Reclamation. Impound operations began March 27. Aside from using its own manpower, the BLM has also contracted with private groups and individuals to assist in the roundup of the trespassing cattle. Once rounded up, the cattle will be taken out of state for auction.

A helicopter overheard. Helicopter pilots are among the people privately contracted by the BLM to help gather Bundy's cattle, Clark County, Nev., April 1, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
A helicopter overhead. Helicopter pilots are among the people privately contracted by the BLM to help gather Bundy’s cattle, Clark County, Nev., April 1, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News | Click photo to enlarge

Daily notice of area closures is supplied on a BLM website detailing the impoundment operation and the reasons behind it.

According to the website, negative impacts attributed to the cattle include incidents of private property damage, damage to natural and cultural resource sites, and funding and viability impacts as money to certain projects in the region has been put on hold until the cattle are removed.

Various environmental advocacy groups have also expressed their ire over the cattle and have demanded action from the BLM. One such group, the Center for Biological Diversity, threatened to sue the BLM over the agency’s inaction in the matter. The center claims that continued cattle grazing is destroying desert tortoise habitat.

In an effort to help protect the desert tortoise, Cannon said, grazing permits had been adjusted to prohibit grazing on federal land between March 1 and June 24. The modified permits were also renewed on a yearly basis. According to the Taylor Grazing Act, grazing permits can be issued for periods of no more than 10 years.

While the BLM observes seemingly universal grazing permit practices nationwide, Cannon said, individual districts can implement additional rules and regulations on grazing rights based on an area’s ecology. In the case of Clark County, they have to take the desert tortoise into consideration.

Cliven Bundy told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he doesn’t recognize the authority of the federal government – and the BLM by extension – over the land. Ryan Bundy, one of Cliven Bundy’s sons, reiterated that belief.

Where in the Constitution does the BLM have any right to exist?” Ryan Bundy said. Hearing his argument is like receiving a civics lecture from the point-of-view of state’s right advocates in relation to public lands. “The land is supposed to be controlled by the government closest to the people,” he said.

Despite the state’s rights argument, Cannon said, as a federal agency, the BLM supersedes local and state law. The federal district court has also ruled the agency has jurisdiction over the matter, she added.

Concerning states rights and other objections made by Cliven Bundy in the federal district court, the court’s October ruling stated:

The Court finds that Bundy’s objections to the United States’ Motion, many of which have been disposed of in prior proceedings, are without merit. The Court has stated unequivocally on numerous occasions that it has jurisdiction to hear this case, and that the Allotment is owned by the United States and managed by the (Department of the Interior) through the BLM and the NPS. Bundy’s repeated suggestions to the contrary are entirely unavailing.

About more than a rancher

This is about more than Cliven Bundy and the BLM, Ryan Bundy said, “people need to understand it’s about state sovereignty.”

That is the real meat of the issue, he said, not the desert tortoise, which he called an environmental ruse.

Trucks belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency Cliven Bundy views as unconstitutional and flexing authority he refuses to recognize, at the First Amendment zone created in Bunkerville, Clark County, Nev., April 1, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
Trucks belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency Cliven Bundy views as unconstitutional and flexing authority he refuses to recognize, at the First Amendment zone created in Bunkerville, Clark County, Nev., April 1, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News | Click photo to enlarge

Aside from land originally set aside for the creation of Washington D.C. and land bought from the state for needful purposes, the Constitution doesn’t allow the federal government to own land within the states, Ryan Bundy said.

“All the lands they claim to own – they don’t,” Ryan Bundy said. “They’re the trespassers, not us.”

As for grazing rights, he said his family’s rights to the land were established in the 1880s by ancestors who settled the area. Those grazing rights were established and even recognized to an extent under the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, he said.

With the range war between the BLM and Cliven Bundy heating up over the last week, both the rancher and his son have said they have received an outpouring of support from thousands of people.

“I get calls and emails, text messages, Facebook messages,” Ryan Bundy said. “We’re getting a lot of support from a lot of different directions.”

Some of the support Bundy is receiving is local, across the border in Utah, and from places throughout the West, he said.

Some people have committed to show up at the Bundys’ ranch in Bunkerville, Nev., in order to see what they can do to stop what isn’t seen as a roundup, but rather government-sanctioned theft, Ryan Bundy said.

First Amendment zone set up by the BLM, Bunkerville area off I-15, Nevada, April 3, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
First Amendment zone set up by the BLM, Bunkerville area off I-15, Nevada, April 3, 2014 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News | Click photo to enlarge

“The BLM and park service support an individual’s right to express themselves,” Cannon said. The BLM has even established designated “First Amendment zones” where protesters and supporters can gather. These zones are located at the intersection of Highway 170 and White Rock Road in Nevada.

However, should anyone attempt to threaten, intimidate or bring harm to either federal agents or those contracted to aid in the cattle impoundment, they may find themselves placed under arrest.

“In the end,” Ryan Bundy said, “who is going to be the best manager of the land?”

Ranchers are stewards of the land, he said, adding that they maintain the land and take of it so they can use it year after year. To this end Cliven Bundy has made various “improvements” to the land which has included providing his cattle with additional sources of water. These improvements have not set well with the BLM.

In contrast, Ryan Bundy said the BLM “just wants to waste the land. They want to gain control.”

“People need to stand up,” he said. “Our freedoms are being eroded.”

The BLM has said the situation could have been defused long ago if Bundy simply kept his cattle on his own land. Ryan Bundy said his father owns around 160 acres on which his home and various ranching facilities currently stand. The Bundy Ranch currently runs some 500 head of cattle on the disputed range. However, he added cows with calves are counted as one head of cattle.

The BLM posted on its website that it counted nearly 570 cattle still roaming public land in December 2013.

For his standing up to the BLM, an editorial from the Las Vegas Review-Journal referred to Cliven Bundy as having “big brass ones.”

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85 Comments

  • NotMittens April 3, 2014 at 3:20 pm

    Wow, the Bundys don’t seem very bright. It’s called America, guys. Parts of it (public lands) are owned by all of us. If you don’t like it, leave. You have no right to recklessly and irresponsibly do whatever the heck you want to on OUR land.

    As for the “tyrannical” government, they gave this particular rancher over 10 years to comply with the law. 10 years. And all he’s done is milk it for the attention, all the while benefiting financially from the very resource (public land) that he’s degrading with his selfish actions.

    I almost hope that this guy does something stupid over the next couple of days and gets himself arrested. Might be the only way to get it through his thick head that he lives in America, not Bundyland.

    • wntsmallgov April 3, 2014 at 4:46 pm

      I would not comply either.

    • Zeke April 3, 2014 at 4:47 pm

      Sorry that you don’t grasp the big picture on this issue. From a legal standpoint, the Bundy’s are within their rights going back through a historic review of events. However, the government will never admit they’re ever wrong and would have egg on their face if they gave into this situation. So, they’ll do what they always do. Show up in force, strong arm everyone and leave making sure everyone knows who’s boss.

      This is a prime example as to why each and every state needs to take back all BLM and Federal Forest lands. Let each state decide how to control the land through elected officials within that state. Each state would be much better off making state land decisions rather than the minions back in D.C. do that for us.

      And remember, the ultimate goal here is to control or keep out “all” the public on these lands.

      • Bender April 3, 2014 at 5:01 pm

        Zeke, you’ll have to walk us all through your “historical review of events” to support your assertions. At the same time maybe you can explain why up is down.

        • Zeke April 3, 2014 at 6:21 pm

          Well, I’ve listened to several hours of radio interviews with Cliven’s son and then with Cliven himself describing the chain of events according to them. From what was explained, it sounds like they are in the right to me but there is not enough room here to give that history. He is the last of 52 other cattle ranchers that used to graze cows in Clark County NV and now the BLM is forcefully kicking them out so they can save that silly desert tortoise.
          Maybe there is a website, facebook or other written timeline somewhere for others to educate themselves on.
          Sounds like another case of the government making up the rules as they go to benefit them.
          If you always want to believe what the government says or does is legal and correct, then I guess you can do that. I believe the BLM is wrong from the case presented with these radio interviews.

          • Bender April 3, 2014 at 8:33 pm

            ZEKE, that is not at all my understanding of the events.
            .
            If you are predisposed to doubt the federal government at every turn, I can see how his narrative is appealing. That does not mean it is correct.
            .
            I’ve mentioned in a comment in another article that both of my grandfathers were forced to leave ranching and find new professions… this during the Great Depression. In 1870, around the time the Bundys started running cows in Southern Nevada, about half of the US population was employed in agriculture/ranching. 100 years later in 1970 it was 3%. I’m sure in rural NV/UT/AZ the statistics were even more pronounced. Despite his squawking, Bundy is just another in a long, long line of ranchers squeezed by changing conditions, only some of which have anything to do with an evil federal government.
            .
            Public lands ranching is not under pressure from just the Feds. It’s high feed, fuel and labor costs, drought, climate change, competing land uses, population growth, etc, etc. It’s a very marginal business. Despite this there are ranchers that make a go of it, treat both the land and their animals with respect AND pay their grazing fees.
            .
            I’ve seen many reports, none of which I can personally verify, that Bundy is far from a good steward of either the public lands or his animals. Befouled water sources, severely overgrazed range, and cattle that are near feral and calving year-round.
            .
            You go ahead and take Bundy at his word. I’ve dug deeper and consider him a blowhard and a free-loader whose behavior is disrespectful to the rich traditions of sustainable ranching in the West.

        • Kc Coleman April 5, 2014 at 10:36 pm

          I agree bender…and that was very well said.

      • NotMittens April 3, 2014 at 6:07 pm

        Actually, this is a prime example of why the states shouldn’t ever “take back” the federal land. If that ridiculous notion were ever to materialize, you’d have people like this rancher, who only care about their own interests, calling the shots. Not to mention the legislative body, who would have an open house on selling off formerly public lands to the highest bidder and/or their cronies. You and I would be locked out quicker than someone can say “green jello.”

        As it stands, local BLM officials (who live, work, and raise their families in local communities) made the management decision, not the “big gubment” in DC. Public land is what makes America unique, so let’s let those who actually know what they’re talking about promote the conservation of an incredibly rare and imperiled species (the desert tortoise) and let the cows run amok over the other 98% of the land.

        • Tyson April 3, 2014 at 10:48 pm

          My grandpa used to run cows on public land. Until a rich lawyer threatened to sue if he didnt give up his grazing rights. The lawyer managed to “talk” congress into selling the public land to him for a nice vacation spot for him. It was about 7 years ago. There was a short blurb in the local cedar city ut paper about it. Just watch the goverment will be taking private land in the name of conservation next.

          • Bub April 4, 2014 at 9:35 am

            “Just watch the goverment will be taking private land in the name of conservation next.”

            ,,,
            I sure hope so

        • LeeMan April 11, 2014 at 2:51 pm

          You dont have a clue what the BLM has been doing to us out here in this area. I live in ;logandale about 30 miles from there and you cannot ride anywhere east in that direction now without BLM telling you to turn back. We grew up riding in those areas and the impact is minimal if any. BLM has also gotten a new income stream from us now so they can become even bigger by way of the new green sticker implementation just like CA did way back and then robbed funds from it. Just to do anything out in our desert for poker runs or fun off road events you need to GPS pack it for BLM and pay big money for permits. The government roadblocks go on and on. Americans have no freakin clue just how intrusive and over reaching BLM has become.

      • GPM April 3, 2014 at 8:13 pm

        Assume the states, somehow, could get title to Federal lands. What do you think would happen. I’m betting the rich and powerful would be able to buy the choicest lands and keep out the public.

      • WildHorsesRule April 6, 2014 at 9:08 am

        Within his rights!!! Wow! Those lands are there for ALL OF US. They are protected for the very reason that the ranchers such as the Bundys are protesting. Because the ranchers think that those lands are there for their use solely. The B.L.M. has been FAR to lax and should have done this the 2nd. month that he didn’t pay. Not waiting for 20 years! Right now the ranchers are paying $1.35 a cow/calf unit! What were they charging 20 years ago? .25 cents, .50 cents? When you go to the store, are them savings passed on to the consumer? NO. You don’t have a choice of between free range cattle and those that are not. The price is the same, regardless of how that calf was fattened up. So, he just wants a free ride and wants the government to carry the bill for him. Pay the price or get off the land. And I and the majority of Americans want those lands protected. For EVERY animal species and for our future generations.

        • Mark April 10, 2014 at 1:53 pm

          Yes the majority is for protection but not even close to your way of thinking. That man his father and his fathers father have been protecting that land and keeping more than just cows alive on it. The government is the only one that exploits what is not theirs.

    • Buck April 3, 2014 at 7:27 pm

      Hay look this man and his family have been in this land for hundreds of year in facked his family settled this land so yes he does have right learn your fack before u look dumb

      • Dino April 4, 2014 at 6:53 pm

        Dude learn to spell just a little and no his family has not been their for “hundreds of years” you idiot, assuming his argument of states rights is correct then Nevada owns it and he has not paid them either in years, he is using thousands of acres for free

        • WildHorsesRule April 6, 2014 at 9:19 am

          EXACTLY. Thank you. The Bundys, like so many ranchers, think that they have the rights to use it solely. They want the government to give them the rights to use OUR lands for their profits. Bottom line, it’s GREED. Right now they pay a very measly $1.35 for a cow/calf unit, per month. What was it 20 years ago? .25 cents? .50 cents? They should have threw him off the 2nd. month that he didn’t pay. Not wait 20 years! Talk about a free ride! Someone was getting paid off!!

      • NotMittens April 6, 2014 at 1:12 pm

        Are you for real? How can someone be so illiterate in the 21st century?

    • Dino April 4, 2014 at 6:50 pm

      500+ head and he only owns 160 acres! I come from ranching family, this guy is a nut job! he is using huge amounts of land he does not own for free! even assuming his BS reading of the constitution is accurate then the state owns it and he has not paid them in years either

      • Kc Coleman April 5, 2014 at 10:34 pm

        Don’t you wish you could graze your cattle for free??? Jeez!!!! How much better off would you be? Nope. It’s time for Bundy to go. And they should annex/tax him 2 million for the round up. He’s got the money….wish I could graze cattle for free for almost 15 years??

      • WildHorsesRule April 6, 2014 at 9:32 am

        YES, he is a nut job. He just wants a free ride and wants the government and the American people to carry his bill. He has 160 acres!!! Throw the idiot off and charge him the 2 million.

    • cakurek April 7, 2014 at 7:46 pm

      and how many times have you went out to this land to see the damage that his cattle are not doing i have been out in that area multiple times on atvs and hiking and there is no substantial damage all he is doing is using the land just like the rest of us the public have the right to do its not like he is stopping anyone else from using it

    • Katzenjammer April 8, 2014 at 3:26 pm

      If something is ‘owned’ by all of us then it is owned by no one. ‘Public’ lands are simply controlled on the behalf of not_We-The-People but on behalf of TPTB who own the government. We, you and I, merely rent – taxes due and growing – what we believe we own. Enjoy and bask in the loving embrace of Our “tyrannical” government.

    • ssolid71 April 10, 2014 at 9:51 am

      “if you don’t like it you can leave”? That position simply affirms that opposition to the violence will beget more violence. Why not say the same things to victims of physical and sexual assault?”
      — Chris Leithner, personal correspondence 2009

      Michael Huemer’s Book, “the problem of political authority” should be read before one claims the govt as any valid claim over what it says it does.

    • Mark April 10, 2014 at 1:40 pm

      You would have been a good comrade in 1917. I hope that no one that knows you does anything stupid, not for your sake but theirs.

  • james April 3, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    If all this land is federally owned and ran than how can we even call nevada a state if nevada supposedly doesnt own the land. i thought it was the united states of america not the federal states of america.

    • Bender April 3, 2014 at 4:58 pm

      JAMES, we can call Nevada a state the same way we call Vermont a state, despite it being almost completely private property. None of the 50 states hold appreciable lands under state title… school trust lands in some of the Western states being the exception.

  • Raspy1 April 3, 2014 at 4:27 pm

    I love how they never mention that Mr. Bundy has tried to pay his grazing permits and the BLM will not accept his money. They also forget to mention that they are spending 2 million dollars to “round up” 500 cattle.

    Seriously? 2 Million dollars to round up 500 cattle? They had to pay an auction house $300,000 just to hold the auction.

    I realize with 16 Trillion in debt this is just a drop in the bucket but how many homeless could we feed. Or how many tortious could we save spending that 2 million in a wise manor.

    This seems like a giant waste of money which is typical of the BLM.

    • NotMittens April 3, 2014 at 6:16 pm

      I’d like to see what type of “wise manor” could be constructed with $2 million. It probably wouldn’t be too impressive, though, given real estate prices in St. George.

    • observer April 3, 2014 at 11:21 pm

      There you go again, I know for a fact that the Auction barn did not receive nowhere near 300,000 let alone to hold the auction. The auction functions weekly and is not based around whether this project is taking place or not. I know for a fact that the auction barn has not received 1 penny as of 4-04-14. So in your rumor mill you need to get your statements correct prior to publicly broad casting false statements.

      • WildHorsesRule April 6, 2014 at 9:27 am

        THANK YOU. Gosh, an honest person. And I really mean that. So sick of them spreading their rumors and trying to get folks “on their side”! They can’t do it with honesty, because if people knew the truth, they’d be out there throwing him off themselves.

  • Raspy1 April 3, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    Also, Since when can the BLM tell us when and where we can exercise our first amendment right to protest? Seriously, they built cages and call them 1rst amendment zones?

  • wntsmallgov April 3, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    Mr. Bundy is correct in the fact that the US Federal Government does not own land. What he also did not say that the only laws that are allowed at State level or Federal level must come from Elected Officials. The EPA, FDA, FCC, FAA and all the other groups that are funded by the US Citizen and have a false power are in fact illegally Constitutionally. A 2nd American Revolution is coming, and what side do you stand on. With the Citizens with legal powers or on the side of the UN Constitutional powers of these appointed and bully groups? MOLON LABE.

    • Bender April 3, 2014 at 5:07 pm

      You would have been right at home in the southern US leading up to the Civil War friend. Bring it on indeed.

    • NotMittens April 3, 2014 at 6:12 pm

      Keep preppin’, dude. Maybe you should dig your bunker a little deeper and crawl in there ’til it’s over.

  • Jeff B April 3, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    CRAZY!!! I passed this on the Highway the other night headed to Vegas. I thought some filming was going there or something. I could’nt belive the amount of trucks and BLM officers were there.Thanks for sharing this article so I now know what is going on there. I am for Bundy! Hope you get to keep all your cows Bro! The BLM dudes need to find a Dunkin Doughnut store somewhere and back the Heck up! Once again all our tax dollars are being spent there trying to round up the cows that have a right to roam. Who cares if there is a turtle out there. SO what!

    • NotMittens April 3, 2014 at 6:11 pm

      Jeff B…another perfect example of why we need educated, informed land managers to make the tough decisions, not people who think cows have a “right to roam” and don’t know the difference between a tortoise and a “turtle.”

      • DO you? April 3, 2014 at 8:33 pm

        tortoise
        [tawr-tuhs] Show IPA
        noun
        1. a turtle, especially a terrestrial turtle.
        2. a very slow person or thing.
        3. testudo ( def 1 ) .

  • Bub April 3, 2014 at 6:01 pm

    It’s funny how all these wing-nut libertarian types ended up on the internet… 😀

  • Lorin April 3, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    I’m 17 years old and I have help cliven with some different things like branding and stuff like that I love every minute of it I love the way, he does things I have learned so much from him is is a grate example .lean more about him before you talk crap !

    • Bender April 4, 2014 at 12:14 am

      Good for you LORIN. I grew up working every summer on the farm and learned good work ethics from the older men I worked with. Just because Cliven is wrong in his fight with the government doesn’t mean he’s not a hard worker.

    • Jayson April 12, 2014 at 3:11 am

      It’s great you’re learning some basic skills. Now, learn how to spell and construct meaningful sentences and you may turn out better than Cliven.

  • rusty nutz April 3, 2014 at 11:43 pm

    cliven is the salt of the earth,when he’s gone and the fed have taken the cows and the tortouis are in full stamped we will be less of a great nation – state. the Nazi’s will be driving their patrol cars with guns and ticket books counting the day’s till they are spending their fat pension’s that were earned by destroying the backbone of America. Hip Hip Hurrah for the fed.

    • Bub April 4, 2014 at 9:38 am

      It’s funny the wing-nuts never brought this up when Bush Jr. was in office…

  • Clayton gleave April 3, 2014 at 11:43 pm

    I have an idea how about we borrow a few more million from China to shut down yet another food producing,revenue generating,job creating,tax paying,American small business.then we can all gather on what used to be the bundy ranch and wonder how the once richest nation in the world wound up trillions of dollars in debt.,and what the future market for desert tortoise might look like

    • Kc Coleman April 5, 2014 at 10:30 pm

      He sends that meat to china anyway…why not buy it back? It’s that way with every other product. You think your chicken is raised in the USA??? guess again…it comes from china!!!

      • jm57 April 7, 2014 at 1:19 pm

        Actually, chickens are raised in the U.S. in fact more than 9 billion are raised each year(for meat) and 245 million are raised for egg laying.

        P.S. do you even research the stuff you post?

    • Jayson April 12, 2014 at 3:12 am

      Good thing we haven’t borrowed much from China. Misinformation much?

  • JustMe April 4, 2014 at 7:40 am

    Many years ago studies proved desert tortoises do better living on grazed land. These ranchers have had grazing cattle here since 1870 and the desert tortoise has not been threatened. But, somwhere around 1990 the feds started charging grazing fees- so I ask is this another way for the government has found to get extra money or is this really about the tortoises and their danger? http://lylebrennan.com/2013/11/01/home-home-range-desert-tortoises-roam/

  • Mark April 4, 2014 at 7:43 am

    He is the “Kelly” of the family, and Lorin it’s awesome that you work but at 17 education would be better for your future as we no longer live in that era, that would be “great”.

  • Advocate for Agriculture April 4, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    So I tried staying out of for a long time but I just cant help to look into what is happening to this family! I’ve been going to school for three years studying range ecology and ranch management accross NV. For example in northern NV they are fighting for potential rangeland because of the dam sage grouse which they say “cattle” eat the seeds when the primary focus should be on crows and rabbits and such. Next reading into this war BLM states things such as the desert tortuous and vegetation damage not mentioning which plants in exact.. hmm I wonder why? Probably because they haven’t done any monitoring of any sort to prove which plants are becoming “extinct” other than it’s not accepting to the “public eye”… Personally what does the public eye have to do with improving a rangeland, improving the watershed, increasing the habitat, making it more suitable for rangeland? Because believe it or not IT IS RANGELAND! Pretty much sounds like they’re talking out of their …* ;( I was reading these articles and felt it relates to this war. Cows honestly can save the west with the correct management and vegetative plans. http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Wildlife/2009/0120/could-cows-heal-the-west

    Could cows heal the West?
    http://www.csmonitor.com

    As well as rotational grazing or even continous grazing. It is actually better for the rangelands! I was stuck on these articles and just wanted to share them with you all. guys!! …*

    Ed. ellipsis: …*

  • Bub April 4, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    It’s a funny thing about that old desert tortoise and right wing idiocy. The guys that stand to make millions by developing land have been able to convince a lot of folks who don’t own any or very little that it’s in there own best interest to see the tortoises habitat all developed and pretty much wipe out the species. If I owned a few hundred acres and stood to make millions off land development maybe I would trade the old turtle for a few million bucks, but for you idiots who don’t stand to make a wad of cash from the thing being wiped out, why do choose the right for land developers to make millions over the poor old turtle having a home… explain pls.

  • bullskin April 4, 2014 at 8:33 pm

    I commend Mr Bundy’s interest in pursuing American ideals and the rule of law. Perhaps he will allow the court system to decide whether or not he should be the final arbiter of this dispute? No? Oh, right. That doesn’t suit his version of the constitution.

  • JustMe April 4, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    Conclusions in tge article are- removing grazing cattle hurts tortoises- shows that since the act was put into place the species has declined further. Hmmmm, interesting isnt it? to see the reverse side of what the government claims is protecting this endangered species. I agree with managment not removal & why does management need to include fees or other costs? Could they limit the amount of cattle allowed and implement fines if not properly followed? I don’t see how taking a mans cattle from land he and his family have raised there cattle on for decades can be constituted. So maybe next time someone wants to claim idiocracy they should do deeper research- just because its easy to find the contrary of what I’m saying doesn’t mean its true, we read headline news daily filled with …. People should stop believing what main stream tells us.
    Ed. ellipsis.

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=HX0_U4fMAcbK2AW724CACQ&url=https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/viewFile/10776/10049&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNGjHUxyPulG1v1gDr_WX-UMJVKOxA

  • 12Frank April 5, 2014 at 9:28 am

    The reason this roundup costs so much is because Bundy has made so many threats over the years. He has also tried to recruit resisters. Also the cattle are spread all over 600,000 acres. Too bad they can’t just be shot from the air. It’s doubtful they will bring much at auction.

  • Bub April 5, 2014 at 11:45 am

    “First Amendment zones”…Anyone who wants to protest is gonna get fenced in like a piece of trash or an animal. Guess who we have to thank for that. Yup, you right-winger’s boy Bush the Jr. and the “everyone a terrorist until proven otherwise” policy. When are you clowns gonna pay attention to reality?

    • Mark Koernke April 7, 2014 at 9:10 am

      There is no difference between the Clintonista’s, the Bushite’s or the Sotoro-ista’s. They are all Globalist Hacks working to build AmeriKa. They are all Soviet Socialist trash.

      • Jayson April 12, 2014 at 3:15 am

        Aren’t you cute. You just used a bunch of words you don’t know the definition of.

  • Kc Coleman April 5, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    The man needs to remove his cattle. They don’t belong there. They are not wanted there. And he needs to leave the mustangs alone. I don’t want his hamburger. He made a vegetarian out of me.

  • David April 7, 2014 at 8:52 am

    The state should decide if they want to press charges against this man and if so arrest him and allow him a trial by his peers to decide if and what kinds of fees he should pay instead of having the fed take his cattle while armed with assault rifles.

  • Chris April 7, 2014 at 9:35 am

    It is notable that the commenters here who support Cliven Bundy are particularly poor at using the English language.

  • Michael Mann April 7, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    What was the purpose behind creating the “new land-use rules” that Bundy is allegedly in violation of? Just why is Mr. Bundy’s cattle being allowed to graze on BLM land so harmful or unjust? If Bundy’s claim is true that his family was allowed to let their cattle graze on this land since the 1870s, then what happened in just the past few decades that made it necessary for the BLM to tax him by charging “grazing fees”?

    On their site, blm.gov, the following can be found: “BLM’s mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield.” Mr. Bundy is part of the public, and he was exercising his right – before unconstitutional laws were enacted – to use public land. And let’s not make the absurd assumption that this is about protecting another alleged, nearly extinct creature. We have to be pretty stupid to believe that this is about the desert tortoise. Everyone who has ever followed the work of “environmentalists” and other so-called “Non-Governmental organizations” (many of them financed by governments) knows that they perform functions on behalf of our governments that are seldom in the best interests of the citizens. In this case, are we to take the word of “environmentalists” that the desert tortoise is really in danger of becoming extinct if cattle are allowed to graze on this land? Can you imagine how much fewer government land grabs and taxes there would be if this and similar groups were seen by most for what they are: mindless toadies of a government out of control?

    And if it’s true that Mr. Bundy’s cattle goes for $1000 a head then it seems that the BLM owes Mr. Bundy hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is one thing to charge him with ridiculous grazing fees (just another tax), and it’s quite another to steal his cattle and auction them off. And if this is really a case of trespassing, why (as several commenters posted to a similar article) why isn’t our government rounding up illegal aliens and sending them back to their countries? The incredible amount of money that our wretched government claims is likely to be spent on rounding up trespassing cattle could go a long way toward rounding up the real trespassers: illegal aliens.

    • LazyWRanch April 8, 2014 at 12:02 am

      Uh Mr Mann, currently the Federal Govmt is deporting the largest number of illegal immigrants than it historically ever has. I am astounded at some of the people on this thread and their lack of knowledge in current event department.

      People keep stating that livestock grazing is beneficial for certain range lands. Yes, I agree, BUT you have to manage the grazing. I do not know of one responsible rancher who does not pull animals off the the range for at least 5 to 6 months out of the year. Mr Bundy does not do this. His feral cattle graze at will all year. Cattle will completely destroy an area if allowed.

      I also find it ironic that he does not recognize the Federal Government, but does recognize the Federal document the Constitution ….. humm interesting fellow

      • Chris April 11, 2014 at 5:42 pm

        and you can bet he recognizes those Social Security checks he gets from the federal government and makes full use of his Medicare provided by the federal government

  • Shane Destry April 7, 2014 at 3:12 pm

    Bundy doesn’t stand for any principle other than that of continuing to destroy public land in order to maximize his own profit ! Ha ! what total hypocrisy he “doesn’t recognize the federal government ” is nothing but a BS smoke-screen ! He and other welfare cattlemen – with the willing complicity of the BLM – have sold their own country downstream by letting 12 million cattle and sheep foul the water and land which is supposed to belong to all Americans ! Then they have the temerity to threaten to shoot wild horses and continue to demand the BLM “manage them to extinction” as has been their stated agenda since 2009 ! Bundy wasn’t driven off “his land” by concerns about the desert tortoise ! It was never “his ” land to begin with legally in the first place ! The 20,000 wild horses nationwide on our public lands actually do have a legal right to exist there by the 1971 federal law protecting them which the BLM continually breaks with their illegal roundups. Bundy and the welfare cattlemen never had such a right other than squatter’s rights ! Yes imagine what would happen to the average taxpayer who argued with the IRS in order to avoid paying ” “but I don’t have to pay I don’t recognize the federal government ” ! Bundy doesn’t have “big brass ones” as some one commented. He has one big lead wrecking ball for a head instead of one with brains !

  • Lobster April 7, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    I can’t believe people let the BLM bully them into some “1st Amendment zone” BS. Public lands are PUBLIC and not subject to corralling people like cattle (no pun intended) into little areas the government says we can express our Constitutional rights. …the feds.
    Ed. ellipsis

  • Rancher April 8, 2014 at 8:57 am

    Over 500 cows with calfs and todays market at livestock that’s alott of cash people educate yourself frank look up current livestock market prices

  • Steve 702 April 8, 2014 at 11:24 pm

    What is this crap? “Grazing rights”? Why is anyone required to PAY to graze cattle on Public land that their family has been ranching for generations? Did someone plant that sage brush there at tax payer expense? Are the cow farts causing global warming? Fouling up the water? I watched some vids on Youtube of these water sources and I’ve seen some myself that are nearly the same in Northern Nye county, those water sources are natural, some of them are springs and some are seeps, that must be dug out in order to attain the water there. So over the past century or even longer, people have dug the seeps out and the water gravity feeds into a trough to provide drinking water for the livestock and ALSO! The Wildlife in the area. Deer, Coyote, Rabbit, Fox, Wild Horses, whatever else. How is that detrimental to the land? What is it that you spread on your lawn to make it grow better? Fertilizer, what is it made from? Cow droppings, so how again are these cattle destroying the land? Someone above mentioned something about “overgrazed range” now the numbers given are 570 cattle and 600,000 acres, Overgrazed? That’s Absurd! I say that the man pays his “Grazing Fee’s” when he pays his Federal Income tax.

  • Dave April 9, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    Cliven Bundy is one of a long line of Western State ranchers who have been fighting the feds (BLM and USFS) for decades over their historically protected use of the public land and water for cattle grazing. Historically, many court cases have ruled in favor of the ranchers and laws have been enacted to protect their rights. The feds and their legal machine just ignore this fact. They are killing the ranches and the families that own them, one at a time, with their rules and unconstitutional tactics. States have sovereignty in this matter but are being intimidated by the fed’s hammer. The current crisis is just a repeat of the Nevada Wayne Hage battle that started in the 90’s, and was just adjudicated in 2013.

    See; http://nj.npri.org/nj98/04/hage.htm
    and:
    http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/15602-federal-judge-rules-for-property-rights-smacks-down-abusive-feds

    Déjà vu

    The BLM and Clark County have not acted ethically or honorably in regard to this ranch and rancher. Just reduce the permit and water use incrementally until the rancher has nothing left. He can scarcely afford to fight the Goliath.

    The Bundy case is not really that unique.

  • JJ April 9, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    Well at least we found out where ol Harry plans to build his retirement castle.

  • matt lusk April 10, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    The US government hires 1000s of imposter opinion writers to overrun websites for those of you not familiar with NSA tactics.

    • Chris April 11, 2014 at 5:39 pm

      Wow, you are one paranoid crackpot, Matt. Better get down to Bunkerville to be with your kind.

  • Jay April 11, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Maybe someone should mention that this same land the BLM has leased or sold the rights to it for fracking and mining. That is why they want the cattle of this same land.

  • Spekx April 11, 2014 at 10:48 pm

    It is the BLM, not Cliven Bundy, who is in violation of the law and the Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution.

    The clause, known as the Enclave Clause, authorizes Congress to purchase, own and control land in a state under specific and limited conditions, namely “for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings,” and not, as the feds now insist, to protect an endangered tortoise.

    Read more at http://www.infowars.com/blm-action-in-nevada-is-unconstitutional-heres-why/

    • Chris April 12, 2014 at 8:47 am

      So many people like you are completely wrong about this clause of the Constitution. This clause actually refers to the creation and maintenance of the District of Columbia, and no court in our history has ever interpreted it any differently. Cliven Bundy, in complete ignorance of the Constitution he claims to revere, has seized on this clause to support his cause, but is only succeeding in showing his lack of knowledge about law and history.

  • Yoda April 14, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    Are other ranchers in other states paying BLM when the rent is due?
    If one goes to EWG and enters this individuals name, what will it show as to subsidy payments received for his ranching operations from income tax payers?
    What would IRS records show as to what this individual has paid in income tax yearly in his years of ranching?
    Cheap food! Where? By the time one buys it in the market, you have paid for it a minimum of three times before you consume it, if you pay income taxes.
    Sell the cattle, or slaughter them, and give the $ or meat to the nearest Native Americans, from which the land was stolen in the first place.

  • JustMe April 15, 2014 at 9:34 am

    The same Feds who are attaching the Bundy’s are the same ones who Nuked Northern Nevada with all their Bomb testing and wiped out all life and vegetation in the area for hundreds of miles. Not to mention the down wind radiation that sickened and killed many people.I don’t think I trust this rogue government for one minute. They are after more than to just to protect the Desert Tortoise.

  • Jefry Tober April 29, 2014 at 9:05 am

    Arlene it is a delight to be able to talk to someone about the history of this region. I always appreciate anything regarding history,settlement of the west, Native Americans, homestead, etc. I am most interested in learning how Bundy and his relations interacted with the Paiute.

    From the Mormon perspective they were bullied by non mormons and the US government.

    From the Paiute perspective the Mormon monopolized the water and brought in too many cows and overgrazed the area.

    From the white perspective we were murdered in schemes like the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

    You have water rights affiliated to your real property nothing more and that is on paper. This is NOT the State of Deseret. We told you once and we will tell you again and again. No you can not make a theocratic state out of our country. You were once citizens of our country before the fraud of your religion was imagined.

    You trashed the desert with your cows and I have been working for 30 years to end that.

    A Mormon judge ruled against Clivens crazy talk. Better find better lawyers because I personally find you a threat with your guns and Militia’s not the US government – me. Get your damn cows off public land and keep it on your private land. It is long done Clark County has the grazing allotment. You know it I know it. You need to get out of 1877 and move into 2014. I think you would have more savvy if you thought of it as a matter of overpopulation rather environment.

    Mining fizzled in 1905, grazing fizzled in 1993 (which is Bundy’s damn fault). recreation brings in more dollars. FACT. maybe that Bunkervile commune might invest their cattle herd to the Mormon polygamy sects in canada or mexico.

    If Bundy has a right why not the Paiute?

    Arlene the whole story is going to come out. I sure hope there are no child brides on that ranch. Right now you are riding on a wave of novelty coupled with frustration of cronyism and dysfunction of this government. You are capitalizing on a lie and a fraud. Reid and BLM are no saints either but not those Bundys/Leavits.

    For the American public this appeared out of nowhere, but we in the west know this has been brewing for quiet awhile. We The People need a public discovery of ALL of the facts. All of the players Bundy, Clark County, BLM, Reid etc etc etc

    Whatever proof Bundy has regarding his illusionary water rights he better prove it. All of this legal mumbo jumbo…. The Bunkerville Mormon commune stole the water from the Paiute. You know they do ceremony up in that allotment to this day correct?

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