The Bundy fight has many nuances.....can anyone fact check this??
From:
David Thomas The
United States government received the territory which would become
Nevada from the Mexican government in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in
1848. Under the property clause (U.S. constitution article 10, section
3, clause 2), the United States government can make use of territories
or other property of the United States government. In United States v.
Gardner in 1997, another Nevada rancher used similar arguments as Mr.
Bundy about how the state of Nevada not the U.S. government owned a
different piece of land. The rancher cited a case from 1845. In this
case, Virginia and Georgia had basically pawned land to the U.S.
government to help them pay for debts accrued during the Revolutionary
War. This particular agreement stated that the land would be held by the
U.S. government until the land became a state. At the time of
statehood, ownership of the land would be transferred to the state. This
specific agreement was carried out and does not apply to Nevada. The
last argument that has been made by Nevada ranchers is that the Equal
Footing Doctrine limits the amount of land the U.S. government can own.
However, the Equal Footing Doctrine involves political standing and
sovereinty relative to other states of the Union. The only mention of
property states that the shores and beds of navigatable waters are owned
by states
............................................................................................................So,
the U.S. did own the land before Mr. Bundy. The right of the federal
government to own this land is written into the constitution. The Nevada
ownership of the land has been shot down in court (U.S. v. Gardner).
Also, I have acquired court documents from U.S. v. Bundy from 1998 and
2013. If you would like these documents...pm me your email
...........................................................................................................The
free speech area was created to protect agency workers who are also
citizens of the United States and other measures to protect agency
workers were provoked by threats made by Mr. Bundy and his family. Mr.
Bundy and his followers are the only people that have used intimidation
in this conflict.
Let
me learn you something real quick. This man is not a hero. He is a man
who has been breaking the law for 20 years and is using political views
to manipulate people into helping him. His actions are causing the
deterioation of lands the government is attempting to conserve for both
the desert tortoise and for public use.Let me spin you a historical yarn..... The
federal government owns land that has been acquired by the United
States government. Much of this land has been turned over to private
citizens for no or a minimal fee through a series of Homestead Acts.
These acts have given land to private individuals who were willing to
live on the land. Originally, individuals were given 160 acres with
subsequent increases to 320 and 640 acres in amended Homestead Acts.
Unclaimed
land remained in possession of the federal government and has been held
in the public trust since. Ranchers in the west were able to use public
land for grazing unrestricted until 1936. The Dust Bowl in the1930’s
caused public outcry and was attributed to the deterioration of
rangelands. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1936 was the first attempt to help
rangelands on public land to recover (public land and federal land can
be used interchangably). Under the Taylor Grazing Act, permits were
issued to ranchers allowing them to graze their cattle on public lands
(the cost of permits was and still is a fraction of what it would cost
for ranchers to raise cattle on private land). These permits were meant
to limit the number of cattle on public lands and allow rangelands to
recover. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was established in 1946 to
manage federal lands that did not fall under the control of the Forest
Service and National Park Service (aka the rangelands). Subsequent acts
were passed by congress allowing the BLM to limit the number of permits
issued for grazing on public land.
The
Endangered Species Act was passed by Congress in 1973 to reduce and
prevent the extinction of species. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
was given the responsibility of identifying and listing species that are
endanger of extinction as set by the ESA. In 1980, the desert tortoise
was listed as threatened under the ESA. Along with listing, the FWS must
designate critical habitat for a listed species. In 1993, the FWS
proposed a rule to designate critical habitat for the desert tortoise.
After a year of accepting and responding to public comments, a final
rule was codified in 1994. The final rule listed this BLM land as
critical habitat for the desert tortoise. To help conserve the desert
tortoise under the ESA, the BLM increased the cost of grazing permits.
Mr. Bundy quit paying the grazing fees that all other ranchers continued
to pay. In 1998, the courts upheld federal ownership and ordered Mr.
Bundy to pay grazing and trespass fees. Mr. Bundy continued to graze his
cattle illegally. In 2013, the courts ordered the removal of Mr.
Bundy's cattle to prevent further deterioration of public lands and to
collect the back dated fees (fees that other ranchers have been paying).
My note:
The cost per head for grazing right are ridiculously low......or is this about something else. I am a believer that this land belongs to you and me, not just the Bundy empire.
Paul Deming
ReplyDeleteApr 16, 2014
Not only are the claims quoted in the blog at least mostly accurate (100% accurate in terms of what it means for public lands in Nevada), the case is even quite a bit stronger even than that. Like that Maryland, leading the other small states in 1782, forced the concession that the larger states ceded their western reserves to the Federal Government under the articles of confederation and that in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (again under the articles of confederation) the process for creating territories, distributing land and property rights, drawing boundaries where all established by the Federal Government. Even more damning to the Bundy argument is that every state (after the original 13) entered the Union by the passing and acceptance of an Act of Entitlement and except for Texas, every single state ceded it's public lands to the Federal Government in the Act of Entitlement with the Federal Government then granting back some lands to the state, primarily every 16th section in the survey. So at the time of the actual creation of the United States Federal Government under the Articles of Confederation the Federal Government was the largest land holder and held more land than all 13 Colonies combined, at least theoretically. The parts about Georgia and the land ceded by Georgia that partially became Alabama and Mississippi requires a bit more detail to explain.