Turtles for cows, open range for kings land? In the good ol USA! By the stroke of a pen some politician can rake in the cash if he can stand for a cause that he can sell the public. First he's got to have a victim, a helpless victim. In this case its the poor threatened dam near extinct turtle. With it all there has to be something to save it from. That's easy, the cow. Ignore the fact that the turtles and the cows have been sharing the same range for the last how many thousand years now? But all it takes is the right message to the masses and you can make "truth" out of anything if you say it long enough. I have to ask you are there any rational thinking people anywhere, city or country, that really believes that this is about saving the turtles from the cows? For hell sakes they would have been extinct before the pilgrims landed. This is about control. Control the land, you control the people in the land. Control the people, you control the economy of the people. The cow is a job, an economy for the cowboy. The turtle is a job, an economy for the government boys and girls. Count the numbers on both sides. Didn't used to be that way, it is now. The reality is its about the money. I ain't saying a few folks don't really believe in their side. But its dam few and they are the puppets controlled and dancing to the wishes of the puppet masters. Cause they want the pay check. The government boys they will be there, the law enforcement boys will be there, the contract cowboys will be there, and Clive Bundy will be there. Everyone is gonna get a pay check except Clive. Who the hell do you think is gonna win? It ain't about the cow, it ain't even about your freedom. Its about proving that your freedom is over. Dance the dance they tell you or get kicked out of the ballroom. The dirty little secret is the noose ain't just around Clive's neck, its around everyone's neck. Clive is just closer to the loop at the moment. But we will all get our turn as long as we choose to ignore the rope. And the puppets will make sure the noose tightens when they are told to. Give em hell Clive and good luck, from Charlie Childers. PS. You never know whats gonna happen at the start of a bronc ride. Its when the dust settles that it all becomes clear. Wrote by: Charlie Tammy Childers

11

A rancher needs big brass ones to stand up to Washington. Not only is the federal government the country’s largest and least competent landowner, it’s also the country’s largest police force and largest law firm, wrapped with red tape into one unflinching leviathan.

Cliven Bundy has big brass ones, all right. And the belt buckle and hat to go with them. But Clark County’s last cattle rancher knew his defiance would one day come to this. After more than 20 years of being dared to use their heavy hands, Bureau of Land Management officials and federal authorities say they’re finally going to seize and auction Mr. Bundy’s livestock.

Starting Thursday, Washington restricted access to almost 600,000 acres of land — nearly 1,000 square miles, or roughly the area of Rhode Island — with pockets of closures so agents and contract cowboys can round up several hundred “trespass cattle” owned by Mr. Bundy. The restrictions will be in place through May 12. Public land, indeed.

Although Mr. Bundy stopped paying grazing fees to the BLM in 1993, the desert tortoise is driving this confiscation. The BLM closed large areas of land northeast of Las Vegas to grazing in 1999 in another misguided attempt to protect the reptile and its habitat. Never mind that grazing has long benefited tortoise populations by churning seeds into soils, keeping predators at a distance and limiting the vegetation overgrowth that feeds wildfires. Never mind the long record of federal busybodies killing off tortoises by trying to save them.

The environmentalist toadies at the Center for Biological Diversity don’t like ranching and grazing. They believe a few hundred cattle will destroy hundreds of thousands of acres of desert. They want the BLM use force to remove Mr. Bundy’s cattle. The roundup will disturb plenty of tortoise habitat, at great public expense, but no matter. BLM officials have spent years in the courts making sure Mr. Bundy has no legal recourse to stop them this time.

Mr. Bundy, 67, doesn’t care what judges say about the unforgiving land his family has lived on for nearly 140 years. “Tell them Bundy’s ready,” he told the Review-Journal’s Henry Brean this week. “Whenever they’ve got the guts to try it, tell them to come.”

This action could reignite the Sagebrush Rebellion — Mr. Bundy has allies across the West. There is great potential for violence. It shouldn’t come to that. We hope it doesn’t.

The most obvious solution, releasing federal land to local control, won’t happen overnight. So we offer a final chance at compromise: Have Washington stand down and send the zealots of the Center for Biological Diversity to collect the cattle, instead.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH AS BLM CLOSES 600,000 ACRES FOR CATTLE ROUNDUP

Federal authorities will restrict access to almost 600,000 acres of public land for the next seven weeks as they prepare to round up what they call “trespass cattle” in the desert 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

The Bureau of Land Management’s temporary closure of the Gold Butte, Mormon Mesa and Bunkerville Flats areas takes effect today and lasts through May 12. During that time, federal officials and contract cowboys plan to impound several hundred cattle left on the range by Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy as part of a dispute that is about to come to a head after more than 20 years.

Bundy has said he doesn’t recognize the federal government’s authority to tell him what to do on land his family has used since 1877 but does not own. He said will “do whatever it takes” to protect his cattle and his property rights.

Federal officials have repeatedly ordered him to remove his livestock from a federal grazing allotment he stopped paying the government for in 1993. The BLM officially closed the former Bunkerville allotment to grazing in 1999 out of concern for the federally protected desert tortoise, but Bundy’s cattle remain.

The BLM made a similar move to impound the rogue livestock in 2012, but the operation was hastily canceled the day before it was set to begin in part out of fear of a violent confrontation.

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie met with Bundy several times as the 2012 roundup was being organized, and he has been in contact with the rancher ever since. He visited the Bundy family at their spread along the Virgin River a few weeks ago, when it became clear that no compromise could be found to stave off federal action.

Gillespie said he hoped to convince the family to keep their protests peaceful.

“I didn’t get any assurances,” he said.

Nor did he have any assurances to give.

Metro has no role to play in the roundup, which will unfold on federal land under the supervision of federal law enforcement agents. There is nothing a county sheriff can do to stop it, Gillespie said.

“I have sympathy and understanding for Mr. Bundy, but I also understand that sometimes court decisions go against that feeling you have. I work within the confines of the law,” he said.

State agriculture officials are taking a similar approach. Spokesman Bob Conrad said the Nevada Department of Agriculture has no plan to intervene in what it considers a federal matter.

The department’s only role will come as cattle are rounded up and state brand inspectors are called on to examine the animals to try to establish ownership, as required by Nevada law and federal court order.

If nobody can make a reasonable claim to an unmarked animal, it becomes state property to be sold at auction, Conrad said.

The Nevada Cattlemen’s Association hasn’t taken an official position on the seizure of Bundy’s cattle, but that could soon change. President Ron Torell said the association’s executive committee will discuss the situation at a special meeting next week.

“We’re watching that very carefully,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re taking the right action.”

The temporary closure was announced in a Federal Register notice posted online Wednesday and slated for publication today.

According to the notice, the public will be kept out of pockets of land within the described closure area during the impound operation, but the remainder of the 578,724 acres will remain open.

The closure area includes almost all of Clark County’s northeastern corner, from Overton east to the Arizona border and from the Lincoln County line south to the northern tip of Lake Mead.

Starting today, the bureau will post daily updates and a map online showing what in the closure area is off-limits. The website is: http://tinyurl.com/leokzah

No exact start date for the roundup has been announced, but it is likely to be soon. The closure will last 46 days. The operation is expected to take about three weeks but could drag on for a month depending on weather, the dispersal of the cattle and how easily they can be caught.

The latest BLM count, conducted by helicopter in December, logged 568 cattle scattered across a 90-mile swath of federal land in the Gold Butte area, north and east of Lake Mead’s Overton Arm, but previous surveys have placed the number at more than 900.

Crews on the ground and low-flying aircraft will be used to herd the animals into corrals and stock trailers.

Access to the area is being restricted to “ensure the safety of the public, federal employees and contractor personnel,” the Federal Register notice states.

It goes on to designate two locations outside the closure area “available for members of the public to express their First Amendment rights,” though only one of the locations — picked at the discretion of the government — will be available at a time.

Gillespie is urging people on both sides of the fence to keep their cool.

“I’m always concerned when there are situations like this where there is so much emotion. I hope calmer heads will prevail like they normally do,” the sheriff said. “You’re talking about rounding up cattle. You have to keep that in perspective. No drop of human blood is worth spilling over any cow, in my opinion.”

By HENRY BREAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

YOU can make a difference!!!

Tell the sheriff to say NO.  He does not work for the Feds.  He works for the people of Clark County and is paid by us to protect our life, liberty and property!  Not the Feds!

To the other officials - Cliven Bundy has not asked for a brand inspection certificate, it needs his personal signature to be valid.  The court orders are for seizure and remove for impound only.

CONTACT LIST

Attorney General, State on Nevada

Catherine Cortez Masto

Office of the Attorney General

100 North Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 Telephone: 775-­‐684-­‐1100

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval

State Capitol Building 101 N. Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701

Phone: (775) 684-­‐5670

Nevada Department of Agriculture Jim R Barbee – Director

405 South 21st Street Sparks, NV 89431

Phone: (775) 353-­‐3601

Nevada Animal Industry/Brand Inspection

Flint Wright, Administrator 405 South 21st Street Sparks, NV 89431
Phone: (775) 353-­‐3708 Email: fwright@agri.nv.gov

Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie

LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT 400 S. Martin L. King Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89106

(702) 828-­‐3231

Sheriff@lvmpd.com

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collin

ccdistb@co.clark.nv.us

Phone: 702-455-3500 

Bunkerville Rancher Prepares To Battle Feds Again For Land

The arid desert range southwest of Mesquite is heating up in anticipation of an Old West-style showdown. In recent weeks, Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy has been preparing for what may be a last stand in his decades-old struggle with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over what he believes are his ancestral rights to graze cattle on the land.

In an interview last week with the Progess, Bundy said that he had spoken recently to Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie. In that conversation, Gillespie reportedly informed Bundy that the BLM is getting close to enforcing a federal court order, issued last fall, to seize his cattle if he doesn’t remove them from the vast range south and west of Bunkerville.

“He sounded pretty certain that it was going to happen,” Bundy said. “The only uncertainty was just the matter of when.”

Earlier this week, BLM officials were still unwilling to give a date on when the roundup might occur. BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said that federal court rulings handed down in July and October gave Bundy 45 days to comply. That period is now long past, Cannon said.

“The BLM is continuing in its ongoing efforts to work with state, local and federal agencies to comply with the court order,” Cannon said. “There are a lot of details that are being worked out so we are still working on a timeline.”

Whenever it happens, Bundy says he has no intention of just giving in and moving his cattle off the land.

“I have pre-emptive rights on that land, adjudicated back in the 1930s under the Taylor Grazing Act,” Bundy said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my life, liberty and property; and along with them, the rights of the other citizens of Clark County to have access to the land.”

This is not the first time that Bundy’s cattle have been in the crosshairs of the BLM. The legal actions have been flying back and forth since the early 1990s. That’s when environmentalist worries about the effects of ranching on the endangered desert tortoise habitat began to take hold. By the end of the 1990s, the government had bought out all of the existing grazing permits from Clark County ranchers; all, that is except for Cliven Bundy’s. Bundy refused to sell his rights. But the entire allotment of rights, including Bundy’s, was retired anyway at that time by the BLM.

For his part, Bundy disputes the very claim that the tortoise is truly an endangered species. Even if it is, he disputes that the existence of his cattle on the range are a danger to tortoise habitat.

But Bundy also insists that the current dispute is not really about the tortoise nor his cattle. Rather it is a dispute over ownership of the land and over the right of the public to access it.

Bundy has insisted all along that this issue is not under the jurisdiction of the federal government because he claims the land, by rights, actually belongs to the state of Nevada.

“According to the 10th Amendment, the state of Nevada is a sovereign authority within the United States to make rules and regulate itself and its lands,” Bundy said. “I believe that it is the people of Nevada and of Clark County who own this land that I graze my cattle on. I have no contract with the federal government so this whole thing shouldn’t be controlled by a federal court. It is the state courts that should assert authority in this matter.”

But the federal courts have disagreed with this assertion over the years. In 2008, the federal government took Bundy to court for Trespass on federal land and prevailed. The decision found Bundy in Trespass and levied a heavy fine of $200 per day per cow.

Bundy expected an appeal to the Supreme Court by the state of Nevada who, he said, should have proclaimed its sovereignty in the matter. But nothing was ever done about it. He was never assessed the fines, and Bundy just kept on ranching the land as he always had done.

That went on for 14 years. Then in the spring of 2012, the BLM made some specific plans for hiring contract cowboys to round up and impound hundreds of Bundy’s cattle.

In response, Bundy, along with his family and supporters quickly sprang into action. They sent notices to the contract cowboys, the Clark County Sheriff, the Clark County Commissioners and other state elected officials; promising to hold each of them liable for any loss of cattle or equipment in the raid.

The BLM officials backed down at that time stating that they would return back to the courts to strengthen their position.

Then last fall, the U.S. District Court released two orders that did just that. The orders permanently enjoined Bundy from trespassing on land that he has always considered his pre-emptive ranching allotment. The court orders also found that Bundy’s cattle had been allowed to wander far beyond his traditional allotment onto what the document calls “New Trespass lands”. So the orders also permanently enjoined Bundy from trespassing on that land and ordered him to remove all cattle from those lands as well.

The order also quickly dismissed Bundy’s claim that the land is, or should be, under state jurisdiction.

“The court finds that Bundy’s objections to the United States’ Motion are without merit,” the Order reads. “The court has stated unequivocally on numerous occasions that it has jurisdiction to hear this case and that the (former Bundy) allotment is owned by the United States. Bundy’s repeated suggestions to the contrary are entirely unavailing.”

Finally, the documents specifically entitled the federal government to “seize and remove to impound any of Bundy’s cattle that remain in trespass after 45 days of the date hereof”.

These documents claimed to have lined up all the legal technicalities needed for the BLM to move forward with the roundup. So now the BLM’s plan was to again hire a contractor to round up the animals and confiscate them.

This process requires that each animal be checked over by a state brand inspector. Even this technicality is claimed to be covered in the legal paperwork from the federal court being presented by the BLM.

“The Sheriff told me that they were going to come out and that the Nevada brand inspectors would be there to inspect the cattle,” Bundy said. “So it seems like both of their legs are wobbling a little bit on this thing.”

Nevertheless, Bundy says that he will continue on in the fight, following all of the legal avenues that he can. This includes pushing for a legal recognition that an order would be needed from a Nevada court in order to proceed with the brand inspections.

“Without a Nevada court order, the brand inspector is not required to come out,” Bundy said. “They work for me as a citizen of Nevada not for the feds. But they seem to be just going along with this. All the State Brand Inspector has to do is say ‘no’ and this whole thing would be shut down.”

Bundy said that he also plans to make a continued appeal to the Sheriff to uphold his grazing rights.

“All the Sheriff has to do is say ‘no’ to this,” Bundy said. “Is he going to step in and protect my rights or is he going to stand on the fence and allow this to go on?”

If the federal roundup of his cattle takes place, Bundy also promises to bring legal action against the contract cowboys hired to carry it out; as well as state and local officials who, he feels, ought to be standing up for him.

“I’m going to hold these people liable and legally accountable for their actions with any lawsuits that I need to do,” he said.

And what if all that fails? If so, Bundy said he will circle the wagons and continue to “make as much noise” as he can.

“I’ll bring my friends, relatives and supporters together to protest against this whole thing,” he said. “And then we will do whatever we have to do after that.”

Bundy emphasized that this was not just his own battle; but it was a battle for the people as well.

“This is not just about trying to eliminate Cliven Bundy in the ranching business,” Bundy said. “Because once I am off the land, they’ll want you off the land too. Then the federal government will have full policing power and rule as though we were just a territory and not a sovereign state. So I’m not just fighting for my rights. I’m fighting for freedom, liberty, agency and access to their lands for all citizens in Clark County. Yes it is my rights on the line; but it is yours also.”

By VERNON ROBISON

WE NOW HAVE A YOUTUBE PAGE!!!

It is full or Interesting and Very educational 

Videos on the Range War

www.youtube.com/channel/UCfmW1Ns_BOqGvTPhVCF94UQ

We love commets

Cliven Bundy Saddles up!

Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy said Thursday he is once again “ready to do battle” with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over his cattle the government contends are illegally grazing on federal land.

Bundy said he learned recently from Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie that the BLM is planning “soon” to enforce a federal court order issued last fall to seize his cattle if he hasn’t removed them from the Bunkerville Mountain/Virgin River area southwest of Mesquite; something he has no intention of doing.

“The county sheriff told me it was going to happen but he just hasn’t told me when,” Bundy said.

Erica Haspiel-Szlosek, communications chief for the Nevada BLM office in Reno, confirmed Thursday the BLM is in possession of a federal court order telling Bundy to remove his cattle within 45 days, “and we are well past that time.”

“I don’t think we have a final date because there are many things still in flux,” Haspiel-Szlosek said. “We’re still evaluating the situation. Before we can impound any cattle, he will have to be notified in writing about the general time frame.”

Although Bundy said the only notice he received notice from the BLM was the August court order giving him 45 days to move his cattle off Gold Butte, he still believes it could happen any day.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my life, liberty and property,” the 67-year-old rancher said. “I don’t know what it will take. I guess a lot of media, family, friends, whoever will stand with me. The state and local government has fumbled this thing so far.”

Bundy and the BLM have clashed repeatedly since the early 1990s about his cattle roaming the Gold Butte area.

Among other contentious disagreements, the government insists the area is important habitat for the endangered desert tortoise and Bundy’s cattle eat the vegetation that would otherwise sustain them.

Bundy disputes first that the tortoise is an endangered species and, second, that there’s plenty of food for both animals.

He also maintains his cattle aren’t “trespassing” since the federal government has no claim on the land, and his animals are feeding on grass that’s growing land owned by the state or county not the federal government.

“I can’t believe a federal judge wouldn’t recognize the sovereign right of the state of Nevada,” Bundy said in May.

Bundy said Thursday the latest skirmish with the BLM could be solved without any problem if Sheriff Gillespie would simply step in.

“I think the sheriff could shut this whole thing down,” Bundy said. “All he has to do is say, ‘No.’”

When queried about Bundy and the BLM via email, Metro Police responded, “The LVMPD is not involved in any scheduled cattle round up concerning Cliven Bundy.”

“Is the sheriff going to sit on the sidelines to keep the peace?” Bundy said. “If so, he’s not protecting me. He’s stopping me from protecting my property. He’s got to make a decision which side of the fence he’s on.”

The BLM’s plan, if Bundy continues to refuse to remove his cattle, is to hire a contractor to round them up and confiscate them. The process requires that every animal be checked by a state brand inspector.

“As I understand it, one of the reasons we went to court (instead of confiscating the cattle last fall) was so the state brand inspector would be on-site. That’s what the problem was last year,” Haspiel-Szlosek said.

Apparently, the confiscation order was too vague.

“The state brand inspector now has all the necessary legal documentation to inspect the animals we confiscate,” she said.

Bundy said the brand inspector should refuse to work with the BLM.

“All he has to say is ‘no,’” Bundy said. “The problem is the federal courts have been running the show. The state has never got into it.

“These state brand inspectors work for me as a citizen of Nevada, not the feds,” Bundy said. “They don’t have any order from a state court.

“I want to give fair warning,” Bundy said. “I will hold the state and county officials accountable and liable. I will also make any cowboy contractor who collects the cattle legally accountable. That means I’ll sue ‘em.”

However and whenever it occurs, no one wants to see violence.

“Guns are not my intent,” Bundy said.

Haspiel-Szlosek agrees.

“It’s hard to say what the circumstances might cause,” she said. “We certainly hope it doesn’t escalate to violence. We really don’t think Mr. Bundy will do that.”