Please educate yourself by reading the Constitution of Nevada. Nevada never owned the land and gave up all rights to tax the lands.
As for the backhoe, have you ever maintained a dirt road? I have, depending on the situation, there are a lot of reasons why a backhoe might come in handy. Washed out dirt roads need to be repaired before vehicles can use them.
All contracts under duress are null and void. Civil War era deals are suspect on their face, and pretending that a state constitution absolves the federal government of its prime directive is foolish. This is an issue because people with common sense recognize the wrongness of a state possessing a mere sliver of its geographic footprint.
Why, yes, I have.
Of course, we never felt the need to beat the crap out of spectators and handcuff them for watching while we worked.
How about you?
Why did the Fedcoats need to do that to Bundy's son because he was curious about their backhoe?