BLM Restrictions- Not Just a Bundy Ranch Problem
Ranchers throughout the West are dealing with the United States Government’s encroachment on their lives. And many times there are deeper issues involved than the surface ones. Idaho, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas…all are seeing heavy-handed attempts to take land or severely restrict the use of that land by any means necessary. The main ploy of the federal government is to RESTRICT THE SIZE OF THE RANCHER’S HERDS, and bully the ranchers into compliance. The problem is that those restrictions make it nearly impossible for ranchers to continue their business…which forces them out. The following are examples:
Idaho
68 ranchers from the Owyhee Mountain area in Idaho have taken the BLM to court over their restrictions. The BLM claims it is regulating the size of rancher’s herds in order to “protect the sage grouse.” But ranchers say that without the cattle grazing on the lands, grasses dry out and become fodder for prairie wildfires- which are far more damaging to those grazing lands and the sage grouse.
The ranchers believe the BLM is not to blame because of frivolous lawsuits against the land management system by environmentalists. But there may be a deeper agenda here, just as there was in Nevada. Idaho’s utility companies and corporations are subject to Presidential executive orders too.
Shrink the herds is not a viable answer
Ranchers in Idaho, as they do around the West, pay a fee for each head of cattle that graze on public lands. Instead of coming up with an alternative, the BLM simply demands the amount of cattle a rancher has be reduced. With Cliven Bundy, that number was to be reduced to 150 head. In Idaho, ranchers say they that the BLM is trying to reduce their herds by anywhere from 30% to 50%, and it is not economically feasible.
The court case filed by the Owyhee ranchers claims that the science used to come up with the amount of cattle is off base. And the issue of cattle ranchers affects everyone, whether the liberals realize it or not. While Idaho ranchers believe they can win this fight in court, the day may soon come when a lawless government will attempt an armed confrontation in their own back yard regardless of any court.
KIVI TV News reports it like this:
“But the reduction of grazing cows doesn’t just affect the rancher. Fewer cows on the market raises the price of beef. Idaho ranchers hope with less restrictive grazing they can bring your grocery bill down.”
The House Committee Hearing, 2013
Ranchers from Thermopolis, Wyoming; Tonopah, Nevada; Fairview, New Mexico; Jordan Valley, Oregon; Murphy, Idaho; and Cheyenne, Wyoming appeared before the House Natural Resources Committee to testify regarding “Threats, Intimidation and Bullying by Federal Land Managing Agencies.” The hearing took place on October 29, 2013.
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Executive orders
Obviously a “hearing” did not stop the federal government’s over-reaching issues. And with the signing of the executive order in 2013 regarding “climate change,” nearly every natural resource across the country is now at risk of federal oversight and intervention. This
excerpt from a previous MC article reveals the problem:
“Sec. 3. Managing Lands and Waters for Climate Preparedness and Resilience. Within 9 months of the date of this order and in coordination with the efforts described in section 2 of this order, the heads of the Departments of Defense, the Interior, and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies as recommended by the Council established in section 6 of this order shall work with the Chair of CEQ and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to complete an inventory and assessment of proposed and completed changes to their land- and water-related policies, programs, and regulations necessary to make the Nation’s watersheds, natural resources, and ecosystems, and the communities and economies that depend on them, more resilient in the face of a changing climate.”
In effect, this executive order puts all water bodies, property, farms, etc. in the direct path of the Federal Government by the use of the “Climate Change” excuse. Whether it is punishing people who use energy or water resources, the effect of this Executive Order is to place communities and all of their resources under Obama’s Control.
Where will the next Bundy Ranch confrontation happen? It isn’t a question of “if.” It is a question of when and where.
Federal BLM Restrictions Not Just a Bundy Ranch Issue
