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Searching For Cliven Bundy: The Constitution And Public Lands, Ian Bartrum

Nevada Law Journal Forum

On April 5th, 2014, BLM temporarily closed over 500,000 acres of public land in Clark and Lincoln Counties in order to impound cattle grazing there in violation of a federal district court order. These cattle belonged, principally, to Cliven Bundy and his family—ranchers from Bunkerville, Nevada—who had stopped paying BLM permitting fees in the early 1990s. In anticipation of the roundup, the Bundys put out a distress call to militia-like groups around the country, and seven days later, an armed crowd confronted federal and state officers in the desert near Gold Butte. Another week later, federal authorities backed down, citing …