Feds 'killing cattle' in war with rancher

[beagledave]

Well it's been awhile since Ruby Ridge or Branch Davidian, time to fire up the anti-gubmint folks.

[SteveG]

Unmarked assault force seen headed for Mac Forum. Seal the blast doors, Bernie!

[SteveG]

More: Reuters story...

Militia members, ultra-conservatives rally to cause of Nevada rancher
By Laura Zuckerman

Rancher Cliven Bundy (2nd R) is escorted in Bunkerville, Nevada, April 11, 2014.
(Reuters) - Self-styled militia members and ultra-conservatives rallied on Friday to the cause of a defiant rancher accused by the U.S. government of illegally grazing his cattle for decades on public lands in the southern Nevada desert. The showdown between rancher Cliven Bundy and U.S. land managers has brought a team of armed federal rangers to Nevada to seize his 1,000 head of cattle in an unusual roundup that has become a flashpoint for anti-government groups, right-wing politicians and gun-rights activists.

Bob Diehl, head of a group calling itself the Southern Nevada Militia, based in Mesquite, Nevada, estimated that as many as 1,500 supporters turned out Friday to protest the government seizure of Bundy's livestock from 600,000 acres of federal range and park lands that he has claimed as his own property.

The dispute has tapped into long-simmering anger in Nevada and other big Western states rooted in the fact that vast tracts of their land are owned and governed by federal agencies, much of it by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management, or BLM. "Many of us are here for the same reason. It's not about cattle, it's not about land, it's about bringing the constitution back to the people," Diehl said. Diehl said many who believe the federal government has overreached its authority by intervening in states' rights in such areas as guns, land use and marriage laws have come to see the Bundy Ranch and the forced roundup as "the last stand for American independence."

The dispute between Bundy and federal land managers began in 1993 when he stopped paying fees of about $1.35 per cow-calf pair to graze public lands that are also home to imperiled animals such as the Mojave Desert tortoise. The BLM also claims Bundy has ignored cancellation of his grazing leases and defied federal court orders to remove his cattle. Bundy has said in legal documents that his right to graze the land predates the government's management of it, that he was "a citizen of Nevada and not a citizen of the territory of the United States," and that the BLM failed to produce proof it had jurisdiction over the lands.

His wife, Carol Bundy, said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that it was "a freedom issue that we're really fighting here."

Amy Lueders, head of the Nevada BLM office, said the cattle seizure was a last resort to address a rancher who "owes the American people in excess of $1 million" in back fees, penalties and other costs. "Mr. Bundy is breaking the law and he has been breaking the law for the last 20 years," she told reporters during a telephone news conference on Friday.

In legal documents seeking court approval for the seizure, U.S. attorneys said Bundy described the grazing allotment as "his property," referred to his disagreement with the BLM as a "range war" and testified during a legal deposition that he would "do whatever it takes," including physically resisting, to prevent seizure of his cattle.

While Bundy's plight has stirred support among conservative lawmakers in Nevada and neighboring states such as Arizona, an organization that monitors extremist groups said the issue is about theft, not ideology. "He owes the American people $1 million, and he's telling us he's defending the Constitution? He's not defending anything for us," said Mark Potok, senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
-----

All the Stars and Stripes Kevlar/Ceramic body armor was sold out at Walmart, so this thing really must be taking off.

[Ca Bob]

He says he's not a citizen of the US? This sounds a little like that other crackpot movement called the sovereign citizens. They may call it a fight about freedom, but it reads more like a fight for the right to be ignorant of the law, of history, and of logical thought.

[Acer]

One day, when I came home from work, I accidentally put my car key in the door of my apartment building... I turned it... and the whole building started up.... So I drove it around.... A policeman stopped me for going too fast... He said, 'Where do you live?'... I said, 'Right here'... Then I drove my building onto the middle of a highway, and I ran outside, and told all of the cars to get the hell out of my driveway.

~ Stephen Wright

[J Marston]

Ca Bob wrote:
He says he's not a citizen of the US? This sounds a little like that other crackpot movement called the sovereign citizens.

He's not better informed about the Nevada constitution, which states that:

"...The Paramount Allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers as the same have been or may be defined by the Supreme Court of the United States; and...no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith or perform any act tending to impair, subvert, or resist the Supreme Authority of the government of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and Perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion of the States, or people thereof attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the Execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its Authority."

So yeah, his only recourse is to claim that he is a law unto himself, superior to the state or the U.S. He's ginning this up into a confrontation, allegedly, between his rights and an overreaching federal government: but it's just an attempt to find an audience among the deluded.

[haikuman]

The BLM is inconsistent and aimless me thinks . . . ymmv

http://wilderness.org/blog/while-yosemit...-companies

While Yosemite was closed, it was open season for timber companies

While public lands were closed to visitors for the 16-day government shutdown, Congress was trying to open them to logging and drilling.
Story update: Since we first published this story in October, Congress has pulled Yosemite National Park from a logging bill that would have opened vast swaths of forest to logging companies. The bad news is that lands in nearby Stanislaus National Forest are now being targeted. Get the full update on the bad logging bill here.

Oct. 24 - National Parks were closed for 16 days due to the government shutdown, but while visitors are locked out, Congress was busy trying to open Yosemite to logging - and other special public lands were being proposed for sale to local states for energy and mineral exploration.

Despite the shutdown, congressional committees held hearings. One on Oct 3rd drew attention to opening public lands, but not for visitors.

Here are the bad bills that Congress is still considering:

Allowing logging in Yosemite! The Yosemite Rim Fire Emergency Salvage Act (H.R. 3188) would override bedrock laws and the courts to allow logging in Yosemite and other public lands, including wilderness areas.
Selling 3.3 million acres of public lands. The House Natural Resources Committee is considering a bill that would not only open 3.3 million acres of public lands for sale, but would mandate them to be auctioned off. The Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act of 2013 (H.R. 2657) proposes to sell lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming to reduce the federal deficit. This is the result of a persistent threat from state governments
Giving away our lands for oil, gas and mineral rights. The Small Lands Tracts Conveyance Act (H.R. 1633) would giveaway vast swaths of our public lands, including Forest Service, wilderness and BLM lands, to state, county and local governments for oil, gas and mineral rights and sales.
Help us continue to the fight against outrageous threats like these.

The irony is that recent park closures revealed just how important these places are economically.

For example, Utah was losing $4.4 million every day, prompting the state to pay almost $1 million out of their tight budget to reopen federal lands for the last six days of the shutdown. Utah is the state represented by Rep. Jason Chaffetz who proposed The Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act bill.

While Congress debated reopening your beloved national parks, they simultaneously considered selling off those same special places. America’s wild lands should remain always open for the American people to enjoy them, and closed to those interested in logging, mining and drilling them.

http://www.ogj.com/articles/2014/04/blm-...eases.html

BLM launches EIS on existing White River National Forest leases
WASHINGTON, DC, Apr. 2
04/02/2014
By Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor

The US Bureau of Land Management initiated an environmental impact statement on 65 existing oil and gas leases in Colorado’s White River National Forest. The move came after the US Department of the Interior’s Board of Land Appeals identified National Environmental Policy Act deficiencies in the leases.
BLM’s Colorado River Valley Field Office announced in an Apr. 2 Federal Register notice that it is beginning a 30-day public comment scoping period which will include open house meetings Apr. 15 in Glenwood Springs, Apr. 16 in Carbondale, and Apr. 17 in Aspen. Written comments must be submitted by May 6.

“Scoping comments that are specific to this area and these existing leases will be the most effective as we draft the alternatives we will analyze in the EIS,” said Steve Bennett, the field office’s manager. “Public involvement is a critical piece of this analysis and we will consider a wide range of alternatives, which will be made available for public review and comment when drafted.”

BLM expects to release a draft of the EIS and alternatives for public review in early 2015, he indicated. As a result of this EIS, the agency said it could cancel the existing leases, modify their terms and conditions, or keep the existing terms and conditions in place.

It also extended lease suspensions for 25 tracts in the Thompson Divide area west of Carbondale through Apr. 1, 2016, because they will be included in the EIS. SG Interests holds 18 of the leases and Ursa Resources Group holds seven. Both independent producers are based in Houston.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=BLM+deals+with+oil+companies+and+Logging+companies&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

The BLM has been in partnership with, Crown Zellerbach, Weyerhaeuser, Georgia Pacific, et al, including the small time gypo loggers, raping our forests,
logging right up to privately owned lands, destroying ancient Salmon runs, polluting rivers and streams while they use 2-4D to kill and destroy native deciduous tress.

They are one of the biggest cancers in gubbernment and hell bent in collusion with big business.
NO runs
No drips
No errors, errors, errors