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  • #46
    This is entering the Nevada political debate now. This is from the Republican candidate for AG.

    Las Vegas, NV – Today, Adam Laxalt released the following statement concerning the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and their tactics against a Nevada cattle rancher in Bunkerville.

    “Like many Nevadans, I am disturbed by events that have transpired near Bunkerville. The men and women involved are ranchers, friends and fellow church-going residents of our state. These individuals appear to be peacefully asserting the fundamental truth that there are, in fact, Constitutional limits to the power of our federal government. In response, the BLM over-reached, launching a military-style invasion against a small Golden Butte area rancher. Meanwhile, the BLM simultaneously designated "First Amendment Areas" nearby.

    “Our federal government derives its power through the liberty that each of us yield to it. Therefore, it should not unnecessarily use force to intimidate its citizens while simultaneously playing lip service to their right to free speech. It is my hope that cooler heads will prevail, that our laws and our Constitutional protections will be fully respected. I urge the BLM to reconsider its approach.

    “And finally, this is yet another example of why it's important for Nevadans to gain more control over our lands and the decision-making process in how it is managed. When the federal government owns and regulates seven of every eight acres of our state, confrontations on bad policy, regulation and management are going to continue. It's how we ended up in the Jarbidge dispute, the fight over Yucca Mountain, numerous debates over endangered species protections and countless other battles.

    “It is my hope that this matter before us today is resolved peacefully, while renewing Nevada's commitment to take further control over our lands and our state's destiny.”
    Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

    "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

    GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

    Comment


    • #47
      Originally posted by Donuthole View Post
      Having grown up in St. George, I went to school with a million Bundys. Needless to say, the St. G facebook circles are blowing up over this issue. Here's something that has been circulating for a few days:



      Here's an instagram video of the lady getting tossed down. Stupid move by the BLM officer.
      http://instagram.com/p/mmChBWjOkK/#
      Despite yesterday's good news, I should still update my resumé to better catalog my indangered tortis work.

      That was poor form by the BLM officer. He should have just let her get hit by one of the trucks (similar to the lady on the ATV) and cut down on some of the noise. My favorite was the pregnant lady in the K-9 officer's face yelling that he better not be socking his dog on a pregnant woman! These people seem to be very fortunate for the restraint that they're receiving.
      I told him he was a goddamn Nazi Stormtrooper.

      Comment


      • #48
        Originally posted by cowboy View Post
        I've followed this thread while I've been working the last few days, and made a special trip into the house to type a reply. Having a working relationship with both the BLM and the Forest Service, and having worked as a consultant on a range battle in Wyoming that ultimately went to the SCOTUS (my part in it was negligible, but I came to be very familiar with the case,) I will say that the arguments for both sides boil down to two things: 1) an issue of state's rights/individual liberties versus federal authority (ie, do the feds have to adhere to state statutes and eminent domain laws with their management plans,) and 2) The perception (and often reality) of the feds promoting a more radical agenda through the Trojan Horse of 'stewardship'.

        Regarding the first issue, most western states are 'fence out' states, meaning that if you want to keep the neighbor's cattle off your property, you need to build a fence. Many states, including Wyoming, have statutes that require both neighbors to share the cost of a new fence if one landowner initiates the intent to build a fence. These laws were designed to make both landowners share the responsibility of containing cattle that were there way before nesting homesteaders started moving in a squatting on rangeland controlled by the cattlemen. The feds have thumbed their nose at these statutes, and basically told all cattlemen that they will be fined for trespassing if stray cattle wander onto grazing allotment. Some people see this as the feds thumbing their noses at the states and making their own rules, which doesn't sit well with locals.

        Personal rights, and eminent domain also come into play with this discussion. The Taylor Grazing act was specifically written to protect the tenure of ranchers who had been grazing lands for decades on the public range. It has evolved, much like the rent controlled real estate of New York, into grazing permits become assets that can be bought and sold. There is a high discount rate due to uncertainty surrounding Federal direction, but the permits have value nonetheless. When the BLM swoops in and reduces the number of cattle that can be run on a permit, the action, in my mind, constitutes a taking that should be reimbursed through eminent domain. The issue is complicated by the fact that many permits have a substantial amount of acreage that I run cattle on, with all of the water being located on private land. Despite this, the BLM controls how many animals I can run, and what dates I can turn in and come home. In some cases, the BLM has even threatened to cancel permits if landowners didn't grant them access to the private lands in the allotments. In one case in particular, BLM employees resorted to harassment and vandalism to try to force the issue. None of this applies to the case in Nevada, where Bundy clearly vacated his right to a permit by discontinuing payment.

        Unfortunately, the bigger issue when in comes to federal land management is the sue and settle culture of the environmental lobby. At best, this keeps the good federal employees more interested about avoiding a lawsuit with Western Watershed than actually managing the land for productive use. At worst, it puts the feds in bed with Western Watershed and its radical environmental cronies, who care little about land stewardship, to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating livestock from federal lands. When they aren't suing over permit renewals, these groups are creating bogus claims of endangered species to try to control both private and federal lands. A case in point is the potential listing of the sage grouse as a threatened species. There is nothing threatened about this species, as evident of the fact that Montana and Wyoming have hunting seasons on them to control the population. Still, because listing proposals have to be based on very little, if any science, sage grouse listing has become an issue, and the burden is on us as ranchers working with the Fish and Wildlife to prove that the species isn't threatened in order to keep them from essentially taking our private land and public grazing permits. That may have been the case with the desert tortoise, but true or not, the tactic has been used for frivolous purposes so often that most western people will take the cynical view.



        The BLM and Forest spend far less time trying to manage land than they do trying to cover their asses from lawsuits by the radical environmental movement. We currently have good people in our BLM and Forest Service offices, but our meetings with them spend 80% of the time figuring out how we can make improvements without being sued by Western Watershed and 20% of our time identifying actual management concerns. I had to hire my own counsel and private range consultent this year just to help our BLM range con navigate the permit renewal to avoid triggering a lawsuit.

        But your sarcasm has merit. Guys like Bundy make ranchers look like radical freemen, an give those of us who try to improve the range a bad name.

        &

        I have a close friend who works for the BLM in Cedar City. I'm thinking about sending this to him since it's far more cogent and interesting than anything he's been able to explain to me.
        He told me that the cost of all the cops & law enforcement is stretching into the millions.

        Also, Iron County's government is thinking that this case somehow allows them to go and round up some of the wild horses out by Lund & Modena.
        http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/utah-county-cites-hypocrisy-clark-county-roundup
        "More crazy people to Provo go than to any other town in the state."
        -- Iron County Record. 23 August, 1912. (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lc...23/ed-1/seq-4/)

        Comment


        • #49
          Originally posted by Solon View Post
          &

          I have a close friend who works for the BLM in Cedar City. I'm thinking about sending this to him since it's far more cogent and interesting than anything he's been able to explain to me.
          He told me that the cost of all the cops & law enforcement is stretching into the millions.

          Also, Iron County's government is thinking that this case somehow allows them to go and round up some of the wild horses out by Lund & Modena.
          http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/utah-county-cites-hypocrisy-clark-county-roundup
          Rereading that, it looks like I was smoking something when I wrote it. I was on the phone at the time, and I'm obviously not a great multitasker. Aside from poor grammar, one sentence in particular makes no sense. The bolded sentence was intended to read as follows:

          "The issue is complicated by the fact that many permits have a substantial amount of acreage that is private. Over half of the largest permit that I run cattle on consist of private land, with all of the water being located on private land. Despite this, the BLM controls how many animals I can run, and what dates I can turn in and come home. "

          As an aside, the Nevada Cattlemen are avoiding the fight because they are a political organization and don't want the BLM to retaliate against its members. I spoke in two meetings at a range conference in Southern Utah last week, and there is virtually unanimous support for Brady. He no doubt handled things wrong - he should have hired Budd-Fallen out of Cheyenne to fight his battle for him years ago - but he has a point that every rancher empathizes with; that many feds are drunk with power and will use any excuse to eliminate cattle from the range.

          To your second point about wild horses, the BLM is doing just that up here in Wyoming. Most of the 'wild' horses on public rangeland are old ranch horses that were turned out to retire. One such herd is being rounded up and sold not far from me.

          Originally posted by cowboy View Post
          I've followed this thread while I've been working the last few days, and made a special trip into the house to type a reply. Having a working relationship with both the BLM and the Forest Service, and having worked as a consultant on a range battle in Wyoming that ultimately went to the SCOTUS (my part in it was negligible, but I came to be very familiar with the case,) I will say that the arguments for both sides boil down to two things: 1) an issue of state's rights/individual liberties versus federal authority (ie, do the feds have to adhere to state statutes and eminent domain laws with their management plans,) and 2) The perception (and often reality) of the feds promoting a more radical agenda through the Trojan Horse of 'stewardship'.

          Regarding the first issue, most western states are 'fence out' states, meaning that if you want to keep the neighbor's cattle off your property, you need to build a fence. Many states, including Wyoming, have statutes that require both neighbors to share the cost of a new fence if one landowner initiates the intent to build a fence. These laws were designed to make both landowners share the responsibility of containing cattle that were there way before nesting homesteaders started moving in a squatting on rangeland controlled by the cattlemen. The feds have thumbed their nose at these statutes, and basically told all cattlemen that they will be fined for trespassing if stray cattle wander onto grazing allotment. Some people see this as the feds thumbing their noses at the states and making their own rules, which doesn't sit well with locals.

          Personal rights, and eminent domain also come into play with this discussion. The Taylor Grazing act was specifically written to protect the tenure of ranchers who had been grazing lands for decades on the public range. It has evolved, much like the rent controlled real estate of New York, into grazing permits become assets that can be bought and sold. There is a high discount rate due to uncertainty surrounding Federal direction, but the permits have value nonetheless. When the BLM swoops in and reduces the number of cattle that can be run on a permit, the action, in my mind, constitutes a taking that should be reimbursed through eminent domain. The issue is complicated by the fact that many permits have a substantial amount of acreage that I run cattle on, with all of the water being located on private land. Despite this, the BLM controls how many animals I can run, and what dates I can turn in and come home. In some cases, the BLM has even threatened to cancel permits if landowners didn't grant them access to the private lands in the allotments. In one case in particular, BLM employees resorted to harassment and vandalism to try to force the issue. None of this applies to the case in Nevada, where Bundy clearly vacated his right to a permit by discontinuing payment.

          Unfortunately, the bigger issue when in comes to federal land management is the sue and settle culture of the environmental lobby. At best, this keeps the good federal employees more interested about avoiding a lawsuit with Western Watershed than actually managing the land for productive use. At worst, it puts the feds in bed with Western Watershed and its radical environmental cronies, who care little about land stewardship, to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating livestock from federal lands. When they aren't suing over permit renewals, these groups are creating bogus claims of endangered species to try to control both private and federal lands. A case in point is the potential listing of the sage grouse as a threatened species. There is nothing threatened about this species, as evident of the fact that Montana and Wyoming have hunting seasons on them to control the population. Still, because listing proposals have to be based on very little, if any science, sage grouse listing has become an issue, and the burden is on us as ranchers working with the Fish and Wildlife to prove that the species isn't threatened in order to keep them from essentially taking our private land and public grazing permits. That may have been the case with the desert tortoise, but true or not, the tactic has been used for frivolous purposes so often that most western people will take the cynical view.



          The BLM and Forest spend far less time trying to manage land than they do trying to cover their asses from lawsuits by the radical environmental movement. We currently have good people in our BLM and Forest Service offices, but our meetings with them spend 80% of the time figuring out how we can make improvements without being sued by Western Watershed and 20% of our time identifying actual management concerns. I had to hire my own counsel and private range consultent this year just to help our BLM range con navigate the permit renewal to avoid triggering a lawsuit.

          But your sarcasm has merit. Guys like Bundy make ranchers look like radical freemen, an give those of us who try to improve the range a bad name.
          Last edited by cowboy; 04-12-2014, 06:05 AM.
          sigpic
          "Outlined against a blue, gray
          October sky the Four Horsemen rode again"
          Grantland Rice, 1924

          Comment


          • #50
            Looks like the bad publicity on the BLM has caused them to back off and maybe they will sit at the table to work this out.. Probably a good thing because I think this would have gotten worse..

            Comment


            • #51
              Originally posted by cowboy View Post
              that many feds are drunk with power and will use any excuse to eliminate cattle from the range.
              Thanks for clarifying.

              The above hits home to me. I'm all for punishing a guy who's breaking the law, but the way the feds want to flex while they do it rubs me the wrong way.

              To your second point about wild horses, the BLM is doing just that up here in Wyoming. Most of the 'wild' horses on public rangeland are old ranch horses that were turned out to retire. One such herd is being rounded up and sold not far from me.
              The Spanish trail runs through Iron county and many of the wild horses are descendants from Spanish ponies. They're pretty thrilling to see, but they are over-populated right now. What we really need is some natural predators.
              "More crazy people to Provo go than to any other town in the state."
              -- Iron County Record. 23 August, 1912. (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lc...23/ed-1/seq-4/)

              Comment


              • #52
                Originally posted by falafel View Post
                Isn't Besty Gonzales "Mormon" the way that Juliana Hough is "Mormon"?
                I can't believe DH missed the incorrect spelling if "Besty." Slipping on your game DH!

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by Sizzle View Post
                  I can't believe DH missed the incorrect spelling if "Besty." Slipping on your game DH!
                  Of.
                  Prepare to put mustard on those words, for you will soon be consuming them, along with this slice of humble pie that comes direct from the oven of shame set at gas mark “egg on your face”! -- Moss

                  There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese. --Coach Finstock

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by Donuthole View Post
                    Of.
                    You're welcome for the softball. Just making sure you didn't totally lose it!

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Originally posted by dabrockster View Post
                      Looks like the bad publicity on the BLM has caused them to back off and maybe they will sit at the table to work this out.. Probably a good thing because I think this would have gotten worse..
                      Oh, it's not over. Not by a long shot. From my FB feed:

                      Joni Bergey-WegnerStand with The Bundys
                      1 hr · Edited ·


                      From Doug Hagmann
                      I was contacted by my source within the Department of Homeland Security regarding the current situation at the Bundy Ranch. To put it bluntly, the people are being hoodwinked into believing that the situation is being resolved. It is not. It is a strategic de-escalation to fool the public. This source stated that the retreat of the BLM agents and the release of the cattle was actually crafted as a potential plan yesterday (Friday, 11 April 2014) based on the following:
                      1. A military assessment of satellite and drone surveillance imagery of the “patriot resistance. Drones under the control of the U.S. military were in use, taking real-time photographic images of not just the activity at the ranch, but "identifying the protesters, any arms and any supplies they might have or be carrying. “Mission accomplished.”
                      2. Real-time communication intercepts between patriots on-site and their off-site support;
                      3. Active monitoring of internet traffic regarding the coverage of events at ranch;
                      4. The monitoring of real-time video from the scene.
                      This source stated that a response by the patriot movement was anticipated, although exceeded their expectations. Although this was a real operation, they also ran this as a test case for future government operations once they saw the response. They were also actively managing the media, in some cases threatening to cut off White House access to anyone covering the event.
                      Despite this, the coverage by the alternative media began to create a public relations problem that was not easily managed. Note the lack of acknowledgment by the White House regarding this event. They are intentionally framing it as a state issue, despite the fact that all federal response has been and continues to be from the White House. There is a reason for this – a reason that has not been identified in any of the public reports to date. I will explain in further detail in a follow-up report on Sunday, after this source attends [redacted] to obtain more specific information about future federal operations. Regardless, according to this source, the government will take back ‘their land’ as they must to fulfill international obligations. It was never about grazing rights or anything other than (1) “securing clear title” to the land, and (2) further demonizing any patriotic resistance. It is my understanding, based on the information from this source, that it is a critical task to create a situation that will also advance their agenda of gun control and confiscation.
                      A more detailed report will follow on Sunday, 13 April 2014, with additional and much more specific information about their inside plans and future operations.PLEASE MAKE THIS VIRAL!
                      "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                      "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                      "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                        Oh, it's not over. Not by a long shot. From my FB feed:
                        i am sure that obama is in the war room now, praying to lenin for guidance on how to further demonize the patriots who defend their wives and children from rape and torture at the hands of federal land management stormtroopers.
                        Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          It's a real shame you meanies drove off IPU. This is right in his wheelhouse.
                          "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                          "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                          "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                            It's a real shame you meanies drove off IPU. This is right in his wheelhouse.
                            You're the one chased off the Utes with the name change.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Originally posted by YOhio View Post
                              You're the one chased off the Utes with the name change.
                              Pshaw... You think a real patriot like Clyde Bundy would whimp out due to a little name change?
                              "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                              "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                              "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                                Pshaw... You think a real patriot like Clyde Bundy would whimp out due to a little name change?
                                Cliven, you commie.
                                sigpic
                                "Outlined against a blue, gray
                                October sky the Four Horsemen rode again"
                                Grantland Rice, 1924

                                Comment

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