Cow Tipping Point Reached?
Yesterday afternoon, David Livingston, a member of the Arizona legislature, said we have reached a major tipping point. He was talking about range cattle owned by Clive Bundy. Clive grazes his 900+ herd near his ranch located roughly 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, but since 1993 he declines to pay the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) fee of about $1.35 US per cow-calf pair to feed on the 600+ acre range near Clive which was taken over by the BLM years ago. http://www.infowars.com/bundy-demands-sheriff-disarm-blm-as-showdown-looms/
In Nevada and other western states, the BLM claims it owns 158,000,000+ acres of range land, and it manages 18,000 permits for leases of that land. However, numerous law suits have been filed by BLM against ranchers who refuse to pay the federal range fees, leaving the matter to the courts. Clive Bundy’s range fees plus penalties and costs amount to more than $1,000,000.00 US. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/10/us-usa-ranchers-conflict-idUSBREA390QI20140410
To press its claims, the BLM used helicopters and range riders to confiscate Clive’s cattle, based on a court order. Clive and about 1000 armed supporters from the area road in on horseback and land rovers to re-take the cattle, starting last Friday. By Saturday the BLM workers blinked, and by Sunday the cattle were re-taken without a shot being fired. BLM says it feared for the safety of its workers, so it gave in to the rebels. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/14/us-usa-ranchers-nevada-idUSBREA3B03Q20140414
HFS analysts note that the ‘Sagebrush Rebellion’ began around 1970 and has been continuing in the western US for the past 45 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagebrush_rebels Some rebellious tax refuseniks in the wild west of the US have fomented a growing protest, even baring arms to emphasize their sincerity, over cattle grazing and wild horses, for several generations justified under the concept of states’ rights. The US federal government disagrees. So do environmentalists striving to protect endangered turtles on the land. Sunday’s small victory for Clive and his supporters constitutes a tiny tactical turn in a primarily peaceful protest. HFS analysts expect that with legislators from 11 states persistently pushing, the case seems set on US Supreme Court cert. What do you think?
