Yeah, but your facts are wrong. The state doesn’t own the land and Bundy paid grazing fees for years to the federal government (BLM) not the state.
As this court previously ruled in United States v. Bundy, Case No. CV-S-98-531-JBR (RJJ) (D. Nev. Nov. 4, 1998), the public lands in Nevada are the property of the United States because the United States has held title to those public lands since 1848, when Mexico ceded the land to the United States.
I believe that he does own 160 acres, for the remainder, he has held grazing rights for the public lands, which he does not own. The BLM thinks the plight of the Desert Tortoise trumps his grazing rights, hence the dispute
All of this was an interesting legal dispute until one each Harry Reid became interested in the land for solar farms to be built by Chinese companies represented by his son. He has gotten in Harry Reid's way, he has to go.
I don't think that the federal government has ceded very much of their lands in the West to the states excepting in small amounts for limited purposes. The feds own over 90% of the land in those states, so I don't think that Bundy has a legal land to stand on for his claim that Nevada owns the land. His case is stronger when it comes to the tortoise, especially since these solar farms are a known menace to wildlife, including the desert tortoise. They've been getting along with the cattle for quite some time.
This is political muscle in action. The law is there to let corrupt politicians do what they want.