Show me the law that says the federal government owns that land.
The federal government can lease public land, and can manage public land, and can hold public land in trust. But it does not OWN public land.
Well, that is exactly what the BLM claims they were doing, leasing the forage rights and managing them. I think Bundy is technically not in legal compliance, but the BLM is ethically and morally in the wrong because their management of the disputed allotments has been ideology based rather than fact and science based. And their management style is as always high handed authoritarian bureaucrapese that Americans are tired of. When the law becomes illegitimate in its methods and purposes, the citizens rebel.
“Show me the law that says the federal government owns that land.”
Will you have another?
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/crsreports/crsdocuments/RL34267_12032007.pdf
US Constitution Article I section 8 and Article II section 2 via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago when ownership of the lands transferred from Mexico to the United States.
Further supported by the State Constitution of Nevada where in the section known as ORDINANCE the state disavows ownership and taxation of federal lands.