The Bundys want federal land ‘returned’ to them. But it was never ‘theirs’ in the first place.
There are more than a few eyebrow-raising ideas -- Manifest Destiny, ownership, group entitlement and superiority -- deeply embedded in conversations about the Oregon occupiers and their political goals.
Wait. What?
Manifest Destiny? Let us explain.
The Citizens for Constitutional Freedom-- that's the name the armed individuals occupying federal buildings in Oregon have given themselves -- have identified their core demands. Most people know that the group wanted to see father and son Oregon ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond avoid a return to jail after being resentenced for five years for arson. That moment came and went Monday. Both men are in federal custody. And, it seems that's no longer the group's chief cause.
And another for the bundy fools
Fact Check - The Bundy Ranch Cattle & The BLM - Fact and Myth
For some time, the Bundy’s have owned cattle that have grazed in the Bunkerville, NV area. Since his cattle grazed on federal land, he paid grazing fees to the federal government. In 1993, the local grazing rules changed when a number of things came together; the
Desert tortoise became protected under the species act, and the Fish and Wildlife Service determined that this was one of the areas
critical to their long-term survival. Grazing rules were also changed in order to accommodate restoration needed from years of
overgrazing and recent fires. These new rules would include Bundy having to reduce his number of cattle. Refusing to comply, he decided to “fire” the BLM, and stop paying grazing fees, while continuing to use federal lands for his cattle to graze. Not only did he not reduce his cattle count, but actually increased them over time.
As a result, Cliven Bundy’s
cattle have been illegally grazing on federal land for 20 years. Over these 20 years, Cliven Bundy has racked up over $1 million in unpaid grazing fees, and has actually expanded his cattle’s grazing further into federal lands. He has been taken to court (and defeated) both in 1998 and 2013.