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"Bundy has insisted that he does not need to recognize federal government jurisdiction on land that his family has used, improved and ranched since 1877. Though he recognizes that he doesn’t own the land, Bundy says that it should be under the jurisdiction of the state of Nevada and that it belongs to the people of Clark County. He has repeatedly said that he will now “do whatever it takes” to protect his property rights on the land.

Federal officials have ordered Bundy to remove his livestock from a grazing allotment that was retired back in 1999 out of concern for the federally-protected desert tortoise.

To strengthen their case, the feds say that Bundy stopped paying his federal grazing fees back in 1993. But Bundy responds that he stopped paying the fees because he realized that they were being used to finance an agenda to drive him and his cattle off of his ancestral allotment. Lawsuits have been ongoing back and forth in the federal courts for more than two decades now, ordering Bundy to remove his cattle. But throughout all of that, the cattle have nevertheless remained on the land.

In 2012, the BLM hired a contract cowboy to remove the livestock. But the effort was quickly pulled back at the last minute; in part because of a fear of a violent encounter. At that time, federal officials vowed they would return to the courts to strengthen their position. Last fall, a series of federal court orders did just that. The orders required Bundy to remove his cattle within 45 days. If he did not, the federal agencies were authorized to seize any cattle left on the land and Bundy was expressly forbidden to interfere."

Source.

The language in the transfer of title from the State of Nevada to the BLM makes it clear that neither the State of Nevada nor Clark County has title to these lands, contrary to what Mr. Bundy may claim.