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.”

Awesome Video!!! 


http://video214.com/play/o9viwoJxxS0Qzhx3dY8Fig/s/dark

^^^^^ CLICK TO WATCH ^^^^^^

OPEN FORUM: Perspective On Nevada Day

 November 6th, 2013 |  Author: vrobison

By CLIVEN BUNDY

Thanks for reminding! Home Means Nevada to me! (From the Editor’s Desk, Remembering the Reason For Nevada And, For That Matter, Which Day It Is: Progress, October 30, 2013)

Fifty years ago, all Nevada schools were invited to participate in a Nevada Day Display Contest having to do with celebrating the centennial of admission of Nevada into the Union. The Project was turned over to the Virgin Valley FFA and then given to me.

I went to the scrap iron bin in the back of the school shop and started to pull steel out. After a time of piecing, cutting, welding and cutting bark off an old cottonwood tree to make the buckhorn handgrips, I had built a gun at school. It was an eight foot replica of an old .45 caliber pistol, only this one was a 600 caliber.

It was displayed in front of Virgin Valley Elementary and High School offices for several months to remind us that that year, 100 years ago, We the People of the territory of Nevada were admitted as a state to join the Union of the United States of America, under the equal footing, with sovereignty, equal representation in Congress, and with borders or state lines around us, with subdivisions (county government closest to We the People) and a county sheriff to protect our life, liberty and property. We now have the U.S. Constitution, declared by President Lincoln to be admitted equal what-so-ever to the original 13 states.

Mr. Ed Presley stated in a recent court document, “It doesn’t matter what happens in the enabling act. It’s what happens at the moment of statehood that matters.”

Nevada is a state. Its people have the fullness of the inspired U.S. Constitution. We no longer live under territory law, (USC ar. 4.3) where Congress has unlimited power to make all rules and regulations. No, we cannot ask the executive branch of our government to give our public land back, nor can we ask legislative, nor would or could the judicial courts.

It is not ethical or moral to ask for something WE ALREADY HAVE guaranteed to us: We the People of the great state of Nevada, home that we love.

On this day, October 31, and throughout this 150th sesquicentennial year, we should remember our pilgrim fathers that left their home countries seeking freedom, liberty and agency to be able to develop a soul of love and knowledge. After 200 years on this continent they still had not sought after these attributes. England’s strong central government had ruling power, with the strongest armies on the earth. So We the People fought and we won. We the People formed the U.S. Constitution, giving the Unites States limited power, reserving the power to the states and to its people. Only 10 miles square of this continent was set aside for the U.S. government.

We should not ask, nor can we be given what WE ALREADY HAVE. Let us act like the GREAT STATE that we are!

The gun that was built at school did win the state contest.

Cliven Bundy is the last cattle rancher still standing in northeastern Clark County. He resides in Bunkerville, Nevada.

Home, Home on the Range: 
Where the Desert Tortoises Roam?
Cliven Bundy is a man on a mission. He’s been battling the federal government — specifically, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — for more than 20 years, and he’s determined to win this David-and-Goliath battle.

Bundy’s family has raised cattle on the land around Mesquite since the 1870s, and he now owns about 500 cattle roaming through the desert rangeland. He tends them, brands them, and drives them to market much like his ancestors did. It’s a hard way of life, but he’s carrying on the family tradition. Now 67, Bundy hopes to someday pass it on to his 14 children.

The only problem is that Bundy doesn’t own the land his cattle are grazing on. Like more than 85 percent of Nevada, that land is owned by the federal government and managed by the BLM, which leases grazing rights to ranchers for an annual fee. Since 1993, Bundy has refused to pay the fees, claiming that his Mormon pioneer family settled the area long before the BLM even existed. He also insists that the land belongs to the state, not to the federal government, which has no right to order him around or fine him. The government at first wanted him just to pay the fees, then cancelled his grazing rights altogether and demanded he remove his cattle from “their” land. The BLM keeps winning judgments against him in court, where he defends himself, and Bundy keeps ignoring their orders.

In July, the U.S. district court ruled that if Bundy didn’t remove his cattle by August 23rd, they could be seized by the BLM. The government also wants him to remove all his improvements, including water tanks and wells. The deadline came and went, and so far (as of press time), the cattle are still on the land and Bundy still refuses to pay the fees, which may now total more than $300,000. He has declared himself willing to do whatever it takes to defend his property, which seems to have scared off the feds.

Bundy says he has “fired” the BLM, whose so-called experts said he would be permitted to run his cattle on the range only from mid-summer through winter. As a rancher, Bundy knows that spring is the only time cattle fatten up, but the BLM was concerned that cows might step on baby tortoises when they emerge in the spring, and as everyone knows, the desert tortoise is an “endangered species”.

Range biologists demonstrated years ago that desert tortoises actually do better on land that’s being grazed by cattle and managed by ranchers. People who have lived in Southern Nevada awhile know that this business of “protecting the desert tortoise” is an example of government interference at its worst. In the 1990s, the feds insisted that tortoises were in danger of extinction. They blocked off huge areas of land from development, and charged exorbitant fees to developers, which were used to establish a Desert Tortoise Conservation Center. You may have read recently that the center was so overcrowded with tortoises that they had to euthanize many of them. They couldn’t release them into the wild because that would cause overcrowding in the native population. How can an endangered animal population be overcrowded? That’s government logic for you.

Cliven Bundy may be on the wrong side of the law according to the courts, but to my way of thinking, we need more citizens like him to stand up to the federal government instead of giving in to their insatiable power grabbing. Let the cattle graze and the cowboys ride the range, and if they occasionally step on a tortoise, that’s a small price to pay for living free.

By: Lyle Brennan