Posted on 04/12/2014 11:09:47 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
BUNKERVILLE (KSNV MyNews3.com) -- The gathering of rancher Cliven Bundy's cattle in northeast Clark County has been stopped by the director of the Bureau of Land Management.
The BLM announcement came as Bundy was meeting with Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie about the week-long dispute.
The BLM had been using contract cowboys to round up Bundy's 900 head of cattle that have been grazing over 600,000 square acres in northeast Clark County for more than 20 years without his payment of grazing fees.
As of Friday they had secure 389 cattle from the Gold Butte area, nearly 90 percent of them marked with the Bundy Ranch brand.
New BLM Director Neil Kornze made the following statement this morning:
"As we have said from the beginning of the gather to remove illegal cattle from federal land consistent with court orders, a safe and peaceful operation is our number one priority. After one week, we have made progress in enforcing two recent court orders to remove the trespass cattle from public lands that belong to all Americans.
"Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.
"We ask that all parties in the area remain peaceful and law-abiding as the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service work to end the operation in an orderly manner.
Ranching has always been an important part of our nation’s heritage and continues throughout the West on public lands that belong to all Americans. This is a matter of fairness and equity, and we remain disappointed that Cliven Bundy continues to not comply with the same laws that 16,000 public lands ranchers do every year. After 20 years and multiple court orders to remove the trespass cattle, Mr. Bundy owes the American taxpayers in excess of $1 million. The BLM will continue to work to resolve the matter administratively and judicially."
Gov. Brian Sandoval reacted to the BLM decision with a statement.
"The safety of all individuals involved in this matter has been my highest priority," the email said. "Given the circumstances, today's outcome is the best we could have hoped for. I appreciate that the Department of the Interior and the BLM were willing to listen to the concerns of the people of Nevada."
With one phone call they could have gotten their story straight. Instead they complied with the gov line and lied their way through the article. Bundy never owed rent. The fees were for BLM staff who were to provide support for his ranching. when they ceased helping and became enemies of his ranch he stopped paying them. Those are the so called fees.
You are incorrect. The title to the land is held by the Federal Government as is the vast majority of land in Nevada. Clark County has been assigned the administrative authority to the grazing rights on that Federal land, grazing rights that were once controlled by Bundy.
As this court previously ruled in United States v. Bundy, Case No. CV-S-98-531-JBR (RJJ) (D. Nev. Nov. 4, 1998), “the public lands in Nevada are the property of the United States because the United States has held title to those public lands since 1848, when Mexico ceded the land to the United States.”
In the West, grazing rights and water rights are much more important than ownership of real estate.
Nevada says it’s federal
Nevada is a sovereign state. Everything within its boundaries is Nevada.
The courts also say that killing babies is OK.
I’m guessing the IRS will hound him until the day he dies.
> BLM will probably fly over with drones and gas them.
Scorpions will creep into their beds at night and sting them Arrival style.
No, the land does not belong to Nevada. The US government retains the title they have held for over 160 years. Nevada was required by Congress IN 1864 to “forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States; and that lands belonging to citizens of the United States”. It was a condition for statehood that Nevada accepted.
Court cases going back at least as far as 1840 reject your belief that the federal government cannot own property, or that Congress, IAW the explicit direction of the Constitution, cannot make rules to manage that land.
Pretending otherwise is dishonest.
Washington Claims must all of the land in Nevada leaving very little for the people of Nevada or their ranchers.
The claim that this is Federal land itself should bring up that response that it is entirely unfair that Nevada should see so much of its land horded by Washington.
This is an opportunity for the people of Nevada and their State to get Washington to let them uses more of their land.
I can see that you know little about land in the West. You need to educate yourself. Unlike the states in the East where the federal government either sold or transferred as grants most of the public lands that came into the Union, they did not do this in the West. Most of these were admitted to the Union on condition that they renounce their title to public lands and the Federal Government elected to retain title, largely because the demand was low and later because government decided to keep it.
You might want to read this:
http://epubs.utah.edu/index.php/HJP/article/viewFile/669/512
Not a smidgen
If it is "federal" land, then it belongs to we the people. Since we pay the fedgov with our taxes, they work for us. The majority of people seem to understand that what this honest rancher is doing is not harming the land in the slightest, and is something his family has been doing for generations. Suddenly however since he has refused to pay for fedgov services not rendered for years they have determined that he is defying them and their "authority" and must be brought down.
As one of we the people mentioned previously, I take exception to this attitude in general and this action in particular. My tithe to the crown (taxes) is being squandered so that the fedgov can pay legalized cattle rustlers to steal a man's livelihood and sell the booty in order to bring in their precious revenue.
And they have the gall to call this a justified legal action?
(note: not a rant against you, centurian. )
If Such an agreement were made as a precondition toward statehood it would be null & void upon obtaining statehood because All States must have an EQUAL footing.
Not having the same legal rights over your own domain as every other state has over it’s domain is most certainly NOT an equal footing.
Additionally the very idea that Washington has a legitimate right to own and retain title to land is itself a very much dubious.
HELLO...this is all about bad press before the midterm elections!
Commie and Thief Owebama ordered them to back off due to bad press.
I guess the one question I have is: can I, today, file for, pay the fees for, and be granted rights to graze cattle on that land? Or would it be rejected due to the presence of some 'protected species' which seems to have survived the existing cattle grazing for the past hundred or so years?
Or would it be far more likely that I'd be granted use of that land for some massive solar plant that would 'accommodate' the protected species living in little pens in between my massive solar panel arrays?
If the answer to the first is no, or the second yes, then this has nothing to do with grazing fees and everything to do with power over the land. And the worst part of it is; had the federal government just stepped up and said 'hey, we've decided to use this land for a solar power plant and the cattle are in the way and thus have to move' that most people would have nodded their heads and supported the federal move. Instead, the story is about some 20 years of grazing fees that were never paid (and likely wouldn't have been approved.)
Nevada really needs to uses the conflict to highlight the fact that Washington Currently hordes 85% of Nevada’s land more than any other state.
http://www.ecowest.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Slide12.png
That is Not fair to the people of Nevada just as this is not just treatment for this rancher. Nevada should demand from Washington a “more equal footing” with the other states.
Indeed If i were Governor of Nevada I would make a jab at the president’s “equality” crisis with this.
Governor Brian Sandoval should challenge Obama to make good on his supposes concern about Equality and “give” Nevada a more “fair share” of its own land.
Unless you're Russia.
Federal land policy is broken and corrupt. It has long been a tool of the politically powerful and connected. Bundy is just one of a long string of little people beaten into submission. In Bundy’s case they are using the Endangered Species Act to rid themselves of troublesome citizens. The irony is that Bundy’s use of the land actually enhances the habitat of the endangered Desert Tortoise, but that little critter is being used as the excuse to destroy this man’s livlihood.
The range wars of legend continue on fueled by government and greed.
“Safety issues”.
Yeah, the safety of their personal bacon.
Wonder how the desert tortoises are faring?
And are the “Cattle Crossing” signs back up on the roadways yet?
And that story from the BLM doesn't support a multi-million dollar effort to round up cattle. Any remedy for money owed would logically be an attempt to obtain money, not spend more money. The federal government could have obtained a judgment for the money and levied against the Bundy family or its cattle. Did they? It doesn't look like they did, but instead decided to launch a hugely expensive cattle roundup.
Rounding up all the cattle in an area spanning hundreds of square miles is not economically viable, particularly when some of the cattle don't belong to the Bundys and those cattle have to be sorted out. What do the BLM folks plan to do with the wild cattle? And what is the real reason for the whole affair? That's what needs to be publicized.
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