Originally Posted by
trish
Is the U.S. Government engaged in a “land grab” in Nevada? The question is quite definitely asked in the present tense. But in the past the Feds quite certainly grabbed the whole of Nevada and then some, from Mexico. Before that it was grabbed by Mexico from Native Americans.
*The U.S. obtained the territory to which present day Nevada belongs in 1848 when it signed the treaty that ended the Mexican-American war. Ever since the Federal government has been trying to entice people to live there. It still owns 80% of the state of Nevada. It owns and always has owned (since 1848 ) the land on which Cliven Bundy has been grazing his cattle for free. Back in the 19th century free grazing on Federal land was part of the enticement to lure homesteaders. It was an entitlement. Not every rancher in the U.S. gets to graze their cattle for free on Federal lands. But Cliven Bundy did.
*In 1989 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services find that the Desert Tortoise, a distinct species found nowhere else in the world, is an endangered species. By 1993 the Federal government instituted a conservation plan to protect the tortoise. The plan includes prohibition of grazing and restriction of off-road vehicles allowed on certain Federal lands, now to be designated as a National Park.
*There goes Cliven Bundy’s free ride. He is understandably upset. This can’t be happening to him. This can’t be about tortoises. It must be what?...A Federal “LAND GRAB.”
*Yeah, right. It’s a Federal “land grab” when the U.S. government takes land it already owns, stops making available to a private business and instead makes it available to all as a National Park.
*Cliven was kinda hoping he could treat that patch of ground as his own into perpetuity. Now he’s pissed because his own piss-poor grazing practices destroyed the natural habitat, endangered a rare species of land tortoise and alerted the Fish and Wildlife Services to the deteriorating condition of the land.
*So this was all over then back in 1993, right? No. Cliven Bundy never stopped grazing his cattle on that land even though it became a National Park! Never stopped! Even though the land doesn’t belong to him and never did, he uses it (illegally), profits from it and continues to degrade the desert ecosystem. In short, Cliven grabbed the land for his own use. He’s been using it illegally for over two decades! He owes us over a million dollars in fines. Our taxes are subsidizing Cliven’s business.
*So finally, after two decades of letting Cliven do whatever the hell he wants with our land, the Federal government gets a court order to impound and sell any cattle grazing within the borders of the Park (unless Cliven removes them within 45 days). This seems to me like a very reasonable course of action, given Cliven’s record. What, should we just write him another ticket that he’ll never pay?
*Of course, Cliven’s "extended" family and some like-minded people protest and obstruct the auction where the cattle are to be sold. Federal officers attempt to disperse the crowd. There are scuffles. A police dog is kicked and the kicker tasered. Some people get scratched and scraped.
*Like flies to rotting meat, Anti-U.S. government loonies with guns are attracted to Cliven’s ranch. Cliven’s land grab escalates into a ponderous storm cloud. It’s what the loonies want. Even if Cliven doesn’t really want a “range war,” gun nuts across the U.S. are salivating at the prospect of another WACO. They can’t say it enough. It’s as if chanting will make it happen again “WACO”, “WACO”, “WACO”.
*But its the last thing the BLM wants. They back off. They decide not to enforce the court order. Cliven Bundy’s land grab is a temporary success. The cry goes up through all of loonyland, "Hooray for loonies with guns."
