BLM seizes cattle in range war with stubborn Nevada rancher
By John M. Glionna, LA Times
2:10 PM PDT, April 7, 2014
LAS VEGAS – Wielding signs and slogans, several hundred demonstrators rallied Monday to support beleaguered cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and his family in a turf battle against the federal government.
They had responded to an alert promising a new skirmish: “Range War begins at the Bundy ranch at 9:30 a.m. We’re going to get the job done!”
Bundy is battling with federal officials over his cattle's grazing on 150 square miles of scrub desert overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. He has refused to pay BLM grazing fees since 1993, arguing in court filings that his Mormon ancestors worked the land long before the BLM was formed, giving him rights that predate federal involvement. His back fees exceed $300,000, he says.
Officials say Bundy is illegally running cattle in the 600,000-acre Gold Butte area, habitat of the federally protected desert tortoise. Last year, a federal court judge ruled that if the 68-year-old veteran rancher did not remove his cattle, they could be seized by the BLM. That seizure began Saturday.
(More here.)
2:10 PM PDT, April 7, 2014
LAS VEGAS – Wielding signs and slogans, several hundred demonstrators rallied Monday to support beleaguered cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and his family in a turf battle against the federal government.
They had responded to an alert promising a new skirmish: “Range War begins at the Bundy ranch at 9:30 a.m. We’re going to get the job done!”
Bundy is battling with federal officials over his cattle's grazing on 150 square miles of scrub desert overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. He has refused to pay BLM grazing fees since 1993, arguing in court filings that his Mormon ancestors worked the land long before the BLM was formed, giving him rights that predate federal involvement. His back fees exceed $300,000, he says.
Officials say Bundy is illegally running cattle in the 600,000-acre Gold Butte area, habitat of the federally protected desert tortoise. Last year, a federal court judge ruled that if the 68-year-old veteran rancher did not remove his cattle, they could be seized by the BLM. That seizure began Saturday.
(More here.)
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