There is more to the story than that.
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And neither of the two articles refute the following facts:
The US Government has owned the land since the treaty of Guadalupe Hildago (1848)
The State of Nevada gave up all claim to the US Government lands when it became a state (1864)
The lands in question have never been owned by the State of Nevada or any subdivision thereof
The Taylor Grazing act (1934) created the legal basis for collecting grazing fees for cattle grazing on US government owned lands
Bundy paid those fees until 1993 when he stopped paying
Bundy has continued to allow his cattle to graze on those lands without paying the grazing fees.
The Taylor Grazing act (1934) created the legal basis for collecting grazing fees for cattle grazing on US government owned lands
Bundy paid those fees until 1993 when he stopped paying
Bundy has continued to allow his cattle to graze on those lands without paying the grazing fees.
Let's cast a little bit more light on the Taylor Grazing Act and Mr. Bundy, shall we?:
Since most of the state is desert, ranchers have always had to use tremendous acreage to feed cattle here. Our state was brought into the union around 1865. Prior to that, and after that, up till 1934 ranchers had legal free reign to graze cattle with no restrictions. This was called forage rights.
In the 1930's the ranchers had arguments between themselves regarding territories. So a few of the larger ones got together and asked the fed if they could hire them, by paying minimal fees to "manage" the land and break it out into sections. This was made into the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.
The fees are minimal. $1.74 per cow & calf per month. Ranchers had no problem paying that just to have disagreements settled.
Ranchers were also required to secure water rights and maintain and make improvements on the land. Mr. Bundy and his predecessors have always done that. No one is arguing that fact.
Bundy's ranch was established in 1877. His family purchased it later, in the 1880's. But when they did, they had to PAY for the water and forage rights.
After the 1934 act they continued to pay grazing fees and make improvements up until the 1990's.
Somewhere along the way the Bureau of Land Management was created. I don't know what year.
Around 1990 or so they told him that he could no longer graze more than 150 of his 600 or so head of cattle there.
He told them to pound sand and kept paying his fees and grazing his cattle.
Around 1994 they told him he could only graze them in the summer, fall and winter and said it was so that the cattle didn't disturb the Desert Tortoise. (more on that later)
He told them that they were HIRED by the Taylor Grazing act to MANAGE the land for the ranchers. So he FIRED them and started paying his fees to to the state of Nevada. Soon they didn't know where to put it so they quit taking payments.
Meanwhile they came at him from another angle. When they saw they weren't going to be able to force him off the land the BLM SOLD the rights to the land to the state of Nevada under the condition that the state RETIRE the grazing rights permanently. Nevada legislators, being idiots, did their bidding. That was around 1996 or so.
But the state left him alone and let him forage all those years.
There is more to the story than that.
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