New Developments in Hammond Case
Ammon Bundy is the son of Cliven Bundy who had a run-in with the Feds in Nevada a few years back regarding the grazing of his cattle on “government land.” Bundy and other armed ranchers came to support the Hammonds, and the took over a building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They insist they will not leave until the Hammonds are released, though the Hammonds have indicated they are not interested in the offered help.
Bundy now claims to have found documents in the refuge that show how the government has discriminated against local ranchers who use federal land for cattle grazing. They also traveled to a nearby ranch and tore down some fencing erected by the government that was keeping that rancher there from being able to graze his cattle on federal land.
It is clear that the government is stymied in how to address the stand-off. The deaths that occurred at the hands of federal agents at Ruby Ridge and the Branch Dividians at Waco, Texas some years ago gave the government a very black eye, and they would prefer to not incite another gun battle between citizens and the government. However, it appears that the government is ramping up a public relations campaign to paint the occupying ranchers as lawless, dangerous men so that they will be justified if it does come to violence.
The refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Spokesman Jason Holm said because the documents and files at the refuge may have personally identifiable information, the agency “is taking necessary steps to ensure employee and family safety.”
The agency strongly condemned the destruction of the fence and said the action undermines hard-earned conservation impacts achieved in the area.
“Removing fences, damaging any Refuge property, or unauthorized use of equipment, would be additional unlawful actions by the illegal occupiers,” Fish and Wildlife said in a statement. “Any movement of cattle onto the Refuge or other activities that are not specifically authorized by USFWS constitutes trespassing.”
“There is a very clear threat to BLM employees,” another official said, but he did not cite any specific threats.
He also said law enforcement at every level “will not be intimidated from doing their jobs.”
Community members were also told “there’s an hour glass and it’s running out,” The Oregonian reported.
Federal, state and local law enforcement officials are monitoring the occupation but have not taken any action.
This situation may all end quietly, but the underlying problem will not go away. It revolves around the question of why the Federal government is allowed to own more than 50% of the land in eleven Western states, a situation that does not exist in the more easterly states. It is troubling that the federal government keeps expanding and demonstrating their willingness to bully the western states. There is an element of the strong, independent cowboy standing up to injustice in this situation, we can only hope that it will be resolved without bloodshed.
Source: abcnews.go.com
Why does the BLM manage lands and make ranchers have grazing contracts? Because before they did ranchers would routinely over graze land destroying the local ecology.. then move the cattle to a different area over grazing there.. repeating this process untill they ran in to each other and got in to shoot outs over who had the right to graze on X plot of land… the ranchers were incapable of managing the land responsibly and resorted to violence against each other… thus the government had to step in..
f**k the BLM and this$#%&!@*COWBOY if anybody gets the land give some back to the native Americans !!!!!
May these nutjobs rot in Federal prison, it will be more freebies for them from the US taxpayers.
Hey Sam, you have been wildly misinformed. President Obama was a Constitutional Law Professor, write him a letterf and ask him his opinion on this.
Vanilla ISIS is a bunch of shitbirds, what more do I need to know?
meanwhile everyone here bitching about the cattle ranchers will go home tonight and enjoy a nice steak dinner…..
the government bought the land to fix it for these idiot ranchers who destroyed it in 1886, then allowed them to keep using it while the tax payers paid for it. Then they kept setting fire to it and poaching on it. So they lost their privileges this is their tantrum. They are nothing more then failed ranchers who think they are entitled to$#%&!@*because their family has exploited nature so long.
u r an IDIOT
Good man your education is not education you cannot undo history nor can you rewrite history’s past by changing the facts Through regret and getting even with the past that is no longer relevent