Another Ruby Ridge in the making?

[LRRPF52]

That doesn't make sense. If he was sending payments to Bunkerville, why did they start sending back payments? Why would they want him off the land?

I spoke with the Bunkerville Constable's office, as well as the desert tortoise environmental protection scientist yesterday. The person that answered the phone in Bunkerville used to have a meat processing business in their family, until the USFDA shut them down. They fought with FDA for years and years until they finally got too old and tired, and just gave up. They have no law enforcement in Bunkersville to protect the people from BLM goons, since they fall under Clark County (Vegas, and Vegas Metro PD-look at a map and see how far away they are).


Bundy's family made payments for 60 years after the BLM was created in 1946, but BLM seems to have claimed the land in question sometime, when it was really Bunkersville city land. BLM started harassing people and closing off Boy Scout and local church camping sites that they had used since the early 1900's, and began telling locals that they could no longer pull off to the side of the road and exit their vehicles even.

I also spoke with Rob Mrowka, who is a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity to hear his side of the story. Basically, once Bundy's money started getting returned to him by Bunkerville, the case was handed over to the courts, and the courts ruled in favor of the BLM, even after being appealed to the Court in San Francisco. Bundy represented himself every time. Once the Federal Appellate Court upheld the ruling against him, he said he wouldn't comply, local and State LE didn't want any part of it, and Bundy was left to continue to let his cattle graze in the area where they had all along.

Rob Mrwoka filed a lawsuit, demanding that the courts be upheld, and the BLM finally responded. Both Bundy and Mrowka say this is a sovereignty issue, and not about the tortoises, but we really wouldn't be at this point if it weren't for the question about who really owns the land- Bunkerville or BLM, and then the tortoise advocacy.

I asked if there was some kind of development planned for the area where the cattle graze, and Mrowka insisted that there was not, since it is a protected area for the desert tortoise. He also said that there are a lot of solar farms being built in Nevada, where they remove the tortoises to other locations after the solar farming company pays dislocation fees for the animals, and there is one on the Moapa Indian Reservation nearby. The only plans that BLM has for Bunkerville Ranch are to erect a monument of some kind.

I personally am not a fan of the BLM, the Federal Government claiming 87% of Nevada's land, and desert tortoises. I grew up seeing desert tortoises out where I'm from in the high desert, but haven't seen one in decades. It would be nice if the Governor of Nevada would back his statements with some force and put these BLM neckbeards in their place.