Ten years after that week of confrontation, the federal government is facing paralysis over how to oversee a desert ecosystem.
The Bundy family and their supporters take their farm animals to public land outside of Bunkerville, Nevada, after being released by the Bureau of Land Management on April 12, 2014. Jason Bean/Las Vegas Review-Journal/AP
Under a bright blue sky, a man on horseback dressed in a denim jacket and black hat leads a half-dozen farm animals to a sand wash under an overpass in the desert near Bunkerville, Nevada.
The moment is part of a video shared on YouTube via Arden Bundy in mid-February, one of many videos showing family members rounding up stray cows. The scene is reminiscent of the much more tumultuous events of April 2014, when armed anti-government activists and Bureau of Land Management agents clashed in a tense standoff (also over farm animals) under the same rural Nevada overpass.
On the 10th anniversary of that week-long incident, when BLM agents unsuccessfully tried to auction off farm animals to settle about $1 million in unpaid grazing fees and trespass fines incurred through Bundy Ranch, the family’s business, is also evidence from the federal government. government paralysis over how to oversee a fragile desert ecosystem.
Surprisingly, not much has changed. Bundy farm animals continue to roam federal lands without permission and in spaces that have long been removed from grazing, in part because of wildlife vulnerability. Many jurisdictions have pursued others without redoubling their efforts to capture livestock, and there is no evidence that the consequences have had consequences. been paid.
“Regardless of anything that has been said about us, the fact remains that we have effectively defended our rights and we are still here, raising a ranch today, exercising them,” Ryan Bundy wrote in an email Friday.
In a presidential election year, it’s unlikely that a federal company would stage a potentially contentious raid (or authorize an aerial hunt of wild cattle, as the Forest Service did in New Mexico last year); of fronts, adding two lawsuits accusing the Biden administration of failing to manage federal lands well.
“There’s an institutional inertia to do anything,” said Patrick Shea, who led BLM from 1997 to 1999 during the Clinton administration. “Given the limited number of staff, they have higher priorities. “
In the decade since the Bunkerville standoff (which stemmed from a 1998 court order fining Cliven Bundy, the family patriarch, for any and all farm animal heads he let graze illegally and an upcoming 2013 court order), the showdown has a style for others anti. -Government protests.
This has resulted in trials by criminals and armed protesters who clashed with officers, even as federal prosecutors have lost some of the most high-profile cases, such as when a verdict declared a mistrial and then dismissed charges against Bundy and two of his sons, Ryan and Ammon. It has also raised the profile of some members of Bundy’s family circle among far-right activists, with Ryan and Ammon Bundy running in unsuccessful gubernatorial bids.
Today, Cliven Bundy, 77, is active on his ranch, growing about 500 mother cows on 1 million acres of land and making normal pasture improvements.
“When it comes to cattle operations, it’s the same thing,” Bundy said Thursday when asked how his confrontation with the federal government and legal fallout had replaced his livelihood.
He claimed that the farm animals roamed the same land that prompted the BLM raid attempt, that after the farm animals were released, they “returned to their herbal habitat. “
Both Cliven and Ryan Bundy have championed the family’s continued grazing on the grounds of Gold Butte National Monument, designated by President Barack Obama in 2016, and around Lake Mead National Recreation Area. They reiterated their long-standing claims that the federal government cannot. Do not own giant expanses of land, outdoors from military installations or other buildings.
“Our Constitution does not allow the federal government to own all this land,” Cliven Bundy said, adding that he would like the Supreme Court to address the factor in a new trial, preferably brought across Nevada or the state.
“That’s been my defense: My farm animals graze only on land in Clark County, Nevada, and I don’t have any contracts with the federal government,” he said.
Bundy added that in the years since the lawsuit failed, BLM did contact him about his farm animals or the budget he owed. Bundy himself reiterated that he had never won an “invoice or invoice from BLM for any amount. “
Bundy still maintains that he “fired” BLM in the early 1990s, when he refused to sign a new grazing contract with the agency. “I don’t know if I ever owed them money,” he said.
According to BLM, at the time of the attempted raid in 2014, Bundy owed more than any other rancher in back grazing fees on federal lands combined.
The Justice Department declined to respond to an investigation into whether a judge’s 2013 order that Bundy’s farm animals can be confiscated is subject to a statute of limitations or still in effect.
In an email, Bundy also questioned the validity of the Antiquities Act of 1906, the law that allows presidents to set aside existing federal lands to maintain spaces of cultural, ancient or clinical interest.
He added that even if the law is valid — Supreme Court precedent has consistently been on the side of presidential authority in designating sites — the Gold Butte monument also fulfills the law’s mandate to be the “smallest compliant area” for items to visit. .
“The law allows only the elements and a small amount of soil beneath the object to be declared monuments, not giant tracts of land, as has been the practice of seditious presidents and Congress and land grabbers,” Bundy wrote.
The complaint echoes that of Utah Republican lawmakers, adding Gov. Spencer Cox (right), who has filed lawsuits challenging the state’s monuments, as well as Chief Justice John Roberts’ own comments about whether the law should be revised.
The Bureau of Land Management declined to answer express questions about how much Cliven Bundy still owes the agency, whether he will try to collect that debt, whether he has won bills or waived any of the penalties. A spokesman for Interior Secretary Deb Haaland also declined to respond to comment.
Bundy expressed no fears that the federal government might attempt a new raid on his farm animals in the long term or try to impose liens on animals to claim new invasion fees.
“If necessary, I’ve told them, ‘You’re welcome,'” Bundy said, adding that he would hope even more supporters would join in his defense. “Last time it was thousands, there will be tens of thousands. ” Next time. “
Conservationists frustrated by the stalling in Bundy’s efforts to raise animals on federal lands (and stop habitat degradation for the endangered desert tortoise) are now challenging the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service in federal court.
While neither case may ultimately dictate the direct removal of the cattle, a victory may force BLM to at least set a timeline for action at the Gold Butte Monument, a component of the Mojave Desert in southeastern Nevada known for its red sandstone. canyons and rocks antiguas. art.
“Right now, Gold Butte is kind of a no man’s land. BLM rarely comes out because it poses a protective risk. There are no services for visitors, the roads are in a sorry state. It’s not functionally managed,” said Patrick Donnelly, director of the Great Basin at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The center recently filed a lawsuit in the U. S. District Court for the District of Nevada, accusing BLM of “unreasonably” delaying a control plan for the 300,000-acre site.
While the lawsuit doesn’t specifically mention livestock, CBD noted that “unmanaged grazing degrades valuable riparian habitat and harms desert tortoises” when it announced the lawsuit.
“It would help the sense that Gold Butte is a controlled position and put pressure on BLM to fix the problem,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly said a new control plan would not directly affect Bundy to raise animals because grazing has been prohibited on federal lands since 1998 under the Las Vegas Resource Management Plan. New grazing entry permits are also prohibited, notably in the monument’s proclamation.
Former grazing areas were removed on the domain as part of a plan to inspire progress in the 1990s, while preserving more rural space for the Mojave Desert tortoise, which is listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
The Western Watersheds Project is also challenging Biden’s handling in federal court in Nevada, in a separate lawsuit arguing that the Fish and Wildlife Service is failing the desert tortoise.
“We hope, eventually, for greater compliance” with the Endangered Species Act, said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project.
The lawsuit points to both large-scale solar projects in the area and the continued presence of Bundy’s cattle.
“At its core, it’s about getting the innovations promised for desert tortoises,” Molvar said. “For Bundy’s farm animals in particular, the land that has been illegally grazed through the Bundy Ranch for the past three decades has been infested with an invasive grass species called red bromine. “
The plant, which is similar to trap grass, can contribute to potential wildfires in the region, adding to a 2005 incident that burned about 80,000 acres, Molvar added.
Although BLM declined to comment on this story, company officials have already stated that they are aware of Bundy’s continued violation of court orders on his farm animals on federal lands.
“No matter how the BLM addresses the existing challenge of invasion, farm animals and [wild] donkeys, the memorial will continue to be a factor for years to come,” said Steve Leslie, deputy director of the Las Vegas Field Office. Public meeting in November 2022.
At a public meeting, which also focused on a new control plan for the site, Leslie also responded to questions about illegal grazing of farm animals by stating that any plan would be “separate from the plan-making process. “
“This is a very serious problem. I’m sorry to say that I don’t have up-to-date information on how the BLM will continue to deal with the unauthorized grazing that occurs in and around the monument,” Leslie said.
Today, Bundy’s farm animals can be easily spotted on social media. More recently, Bundy’s youngest son, Arden Bundy, began showing off the “wild and nasty” farm animals caught by his family around Lake Mead and Gold Butte in a series of videos on his YouTube channel. “The Bundy Ranch. “
The videos, narrated through Arden, began airing in October 2023.
“These farm animals belong to the Bundy Ranch, and they are wild farm animals that are found at the ends of our ranch. Over the years, we haven’t been able to reach it,” he said in a video released in early March. “They belong to us, they’re just farm animals that have been lost for a long time. “
Arden Bundy may be contacted for comment.
Former BLM officials and other observers cautioned that it was highly unlikely the bureau would attempt a new raid.
“You could, in a fancy flight, pass out and herd the cattle, but you can see the backlash that would create,” said Shea, a Clinton-era BLM leader.
The raid and seizure of farm animals in Bunkerville marked the largest such effort undertaken through BLM at the time it occurred, according to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report.
Shea warned that instead of a physical cattle raid, if President Joe Biden wins reelection, the administration could choose to seek a tax lien or other collection action for the current damage to the landscape.
The concept echoes a proposal Shea unsuccessfully pursued during his tenure: “We discussed with the Department of Justice the option of enforcing the law, and I advised them to put a tax lien on all farm animals so that when they sell them, we can collect that money. “right of retention. “
Steve Ellis, who was BLM’s deputy chief operating officer at the Bunkerville showdown, said he would not make a firm attempt to repeat his past actions, even if he wanted to address the situation.
“I wouldn’t recommend the style we’ve tried,” said Ellis, who is now president of the National Forest Service Retirees Association.
Ellis lamented that Cliven Bundy rejected efforts to work with the federal government, adding a reduced number of farm animals and a shorter grazing season.
“It’s possible that all of this would have been avoided if Cliven Bundy had paid his grazing fees,” Ellis said.
Solving Bundy’s problem with free-roaming farm animals is simply about collecting long-overdue fines or even ensuring the survival of endangered or endangered species, according to critics in the family circle.
Mary Jo Rugwell, president of the Public Lands Foundation, BLM’s retiree group, said Bundy’s antisocial character reflects poorly on the government’s herding program.
“This unresolved scenario is an insult to the many Western ranchers who hold a valid license, pay their grazing fees and manage their farm animals according to their permit,” said Rugwell, who served as director of the BLM’s Southern Nevada District Office from 2008 to 2008-2011 and retired as director of BLM Wyoming in 2019 after a 30-year career in the office.
During the 2017 criminal trial against Cliven, Ryan and Ammon Bundy, as well as other co-defendants, Rugwell said the firm had tried to work with Cliven Bundy for years, even after it began charging him grazing fees in 1993.
Cliven Bundy challenged the company in federal court in the 1990s, arguing that the federal government owns large tracts of land. He lost a court fight over the matter in 1998, as well as a subsequent appeal.
But Bundy ultimately claimed victory — after spending two years locked up at the Southern Nevada Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada, awaiting trial — on criminal charges stemming from the Bunkerville standoff. A federal injunction declared a mistrial in the case after finding that government lawyers had withheld key information from the defendants.
This mistrial also nullified an option in the government’s ability to fight delinquent livestock: the forfeiture of delinquent assets. A guilty verdict could have allowed the federal government to seize Bundy’s livestock, firearms and real estate.
Donnelly, of the Center for Biological Diversity, warned that the BLM’s lack of action also weakens the agency’s ability to regulate and regulate the 245 million acres it manages.
“Is BLM good enough to manage public lands in the West if it’s harassed by a few cowboys on the ground?It calls into question some of BLM’s supervisory authority, and that’s a genuine challenge,” Donnelly said. “To leave this challenge unanswered for a decade is quite an abdication. “
Many critics also claim that the Bunkerville showdown, which garnered national attention when BLM-armed law enforcement clashed with the Bundys and their similarly provided supporters, set off a domino effect that would end with the U. S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, described Bunkerville as the point of a “new era of anti-government activism,” stemming from past eras of conflicts over control of land, known as the Sagebrush rebellions.
“The government blinked and chose to resort to violence,” Weiss said. “You can draw a direct line from there to Woe, and you can draw a direct line from Woe to January 6,” he added, referring to the armed profession. of the Malheur National Wildlife Preserve in Oregon in 2016.
Later that year, a federal jury in Oregon acquitted the seven federal brothers connected to the incident, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy.
Following the mistrial in Nevada, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the most prominent members of the circle of family members involved in the Bunkerville incident, with the exception of Cliven Bundy, made unsuccessful bids for governorship.
Ryan Bundy campaigned for governor of Nevada as an independent in 2018, while Ammon Bundy ran first as a Republican and then as an independent for Idaho’s highest election in 2022.
Although Ammon Bundy lost to incumbent Gov. Brad Little (right), he claimed more than 100,000 votes, or about 17 of the total.
During his campaign, Ammon Bundy relied heavily on his reputation as an anti-government activist, promising to seize all of the state’s federal lands if elected, as well as his protests opposing the state’s efforts to curb the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.
More recently, Ammon Bundy has become the face of a protest against an Idaho hospital concerned about isolating a baby from its home over fears he is malnourished.
He accused the center, St. Luke’s Regional Health, of child trafficking and harassment of medical staff, according to the Associated Press. Bundy and a co-defendant, Diego Rodriguez, the boy’s grandfather, lost a $50 million defamation lawsuit filed through the hospital in 2023.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported earlier this month that Ammon Bundy is believed to be in Utah. He is wanted for arrest in Idaho after being found in contempt of court.
Still, Ammon Bundy continues to post videos on his own social media accounts, a recent video linking the defamation case to the Bunkerville showdown.
“No wonder the BLM and FBI hate the Bundys. They will do almost anything to destroy us,” Bundy says in the video.
Separately, Ryan Bundy has filed a lawsuit opposing the federal government’s payment for “emotional, physical, mental, economic, and monetary distress” caused by Bunkerville’s trial and his incarceration at the federal prison in Pahrump, Nevada.
“[T]he United States has spent scores of millions of dollars in a multi-state effort to falsely accuse plaintiffs of allegedly fabricated crimes dating back to 2014 and, to that end, has forced plaintiffs to unjustly go through incarceration and surveillance,” the lawsuit states. . .
Bundy and his co-plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages. The Justice Department will have to respond to the complaint by April 30.
On Thursday, Cliven Bundy said he had no plans to commemorate his anniversary with the federal government.
“We’re not going to party and celebrate until everybody’s out of jail,” Bundy said, referring to Greg Burleson, sentenced to 68 years in prison for his role in the Bunkerville clash.
Burleson, who is blind, was found guilty of threatening a federal agent, obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting interstate extortion. Burleson, now 60, is scheduled to be released in 2043.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court rejected Burleson’s request to convict him.
Journalist Scott Streater contributed.