WASHINGTON D.C. – Five members of Utah’s congressional delegation – U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and Reps. Rob Bishop, Jason Chaffetz, and Chris Stewart – Thursday urged the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to keep cattle seized in Nevada out of Utah. In a letter to BLM Director Neil Kornze and Amy Leuders, state director of BLM’s Nevada field office, the members of the delegation cited health and safety concerns to Utah’s cattle industry, workers involved in a potential sale and that of residents in the communities around where any sale may take place.
In the letter, Hatch, Lee, Bishop, Chaffetz and Stewart wrote that “We strongly support Governor Herbert and echo his concerns, expressed in his April 2nd letter to you, that going forward with the plan to transport the Nevada cattle to Utah may endanger the health of Utah herds and place Utah state employees and other Utah residents in danger.”
The letter adds that “endangering (the cattle industry), particularly when there are alternatives available for selling the animals in Nevada, would be imprudent and careless.”
The text of the letter follows:
Mr. Neil Kornze Director Bureau of Land Management 1849 C Street, N.W., Room 5665 Washington, D.C. 20240 Ms. Amy Lueders State Director BLM Nevada State Office 1340 Financial Boulevard Reno, Nevada 89502Dear Mr. Kornze and Ms. Lueders
Over the past several weeks, Utah leaders have expressed to you in letters, hearings, and personal conversations our concerns with the Bureau of Land Management’s plans to transport cattle seized in Nevada to Utah for sale. As members of the Utah delegation, we again strongly urge you to develop a plan for the cattle which does not involve transporting them to Utah. The fact that the BLM is legally able to transport the cattle to Utah does not mean it would be wise to do so. Under the circumstances, bringing the cattle to Utah would be foolish and unnecessary.
We strongly support Governor Herbert and echo his concerns, expressed in his April 2nd letter to you, that going forward with the plan to transport the Nevada cattle to Utah may endanger the health of Utah herds and place Utah state employees and other Utah residents in danger. With 5,589 beef producers and 364,744 beef cattle, the Utah cattle industry is an important part of the state’s economy. Endangering this industry, particularly when there are alternatives available for selling the animals in Nevada, would be imprudent and careless.
We also share the concerns of Governor Herbert and other stakeholders that bringing any of the animals to Utah—not just those determined to be feral—may precipitate a needless confrontation. Regardless of who is to blame for the current environment, you clearly have the power to lower the emotions involved by keeping the cattle out of Utah. As Governor Herbert wrote, “the proposed transaction is a Nevada issue, involving Nevada residents and Nevada livestock.”
We ask that BLM please implement an immediate change of course. Simply postponing your plan will not solve the problem. We hope to work productively with you in your respective roles in the coming years, and to that end we hope you will recognize the very legitimate concerns of Utah leaders and respond accordingly.
Sincerely,
Click here for copy of the signed letter: April 9 letter from Utah Republican Congressional Delegation to BLM
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews
Seriously? We pay these people?
I understand why we don’t want the cattle to come through Utah…..but I think the Utah Congressional Delegation is missing the big picture here. We all (well, most of us) want them to address the REAL ISSUE here…the illegal closure of our land and the violation of our 1st Amendment rights. What say ye?
But Utah legislators agreed to it at first. Why would they change their minds? It’s mid-term election time. November is just around the corner. It would be political suicide for them to side with BLM at this time….especially since we have dealt with BLM land-grabbing in the past. Out of the 5 congressmen, the only one I trust is Mike Lee.
Two years ago the BLM and Government Paid the auction house in Sevier County $300,000 to improve their facility to be ready for Mr Bundys cattle. To not bring them to Utah would really be a waste of even more money considering that they paid a Million dollars to the men rounding the cattle up and I guess for the Helicopters as well. They allocated 3 million dollars to get this mans cattle, yet they will not go round up the extra horses in Iron County, because there is no money!!
The BLM could have made money on this whole thing instead of spending so much. Since they are laying claim to all of the castle they could have had a hunt and sold tags for the cows. There is more meat and it taste better than the deer.
It will be interesting ,when the smoke has cleared to find out what is truth and what is fiction here. This is the last rancher in this area. Someone needs to talk to the rest of them and find out why. The rest have all gone in the last decade. Are the rumors about Harry Reid working to have the lines to the turtle sanctuary moved so a college of his could build on some of this land true? Is the government going into the fossil fuel business on this land true? What is the story behind Cliven Bundy not paying the feds but paying Nevada? What do the documents re entitlement Bundy has actually say? Where did the BLM which is perpetually broke ,get the money for this action. Why did Harry Reid make such a stupid comment re this all? ” He said he hoped the cattle were safe. What about the turtles and the people. After all the turtles are what it is supposed to be about.How strange is that when Nevada citizens are involved? There is much to be answered here.
Got my tinfoil hat on… I’m ready.
Maggie, I’m interested in the truth as well. None of it makes any sense. 600,000 acres are up for grabs. It would seem the tortoise could be moved elsewhere so that can’t be the reason behind this. My guess is that it’s about politics and money…lots of it. Utah’s backing out is political….November is right around the corner and these guys want to keep their jobs. Utah has dealt with the BLM land grabbing before. To side with BLM now would be political suicide for Utah legislators. I live here so I pretty much know how they operate. Someone could do a whole lot with 600,000 acres if BLM is successful in getting rid of Bundy’s cattle. My guess is that it’s all about greed….money. And if the rumors about Harry Reid are true it wouldn’t surprise me at all. He is about the greediest person in D.C….and Nevada.
Truck those cows to South Dakota to all of us who lost cattle from the Atlas Blizzard last year. We’ll take ’em.
Sheep and cattle voted for these five clowns
It comes as no shock that Harry Ried has his dirty paws all over this land grab.