Situation more than it seems

To the editor:
Recently, while in Nevada, I noticed the front page of the papers were covered with the tale of a rancher's ongoing battle with the federal government.
Apparently the Bureau Of Land Management claims Clark County Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy has failed to pay grazing fees to graze his cattle on BLM managed — so-called "public" — land near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is approximately 80 miles from Las Vegas. The claim is that over $1 million in grazing fees are owed for the past twenty years.
It has been reported that thus far the bill to amass over 200 armed police and troops and to attempt to round up and confiscate his cattle is in excess of $3 million and still counting. The claim is that they need to preserve the habitat of the desert tortoise.
Mr. Bundy owns 160 acres, and his ancestral ownership of that land goes back to the 1870's.
Exploratory drilling of test wells by the oil and gas industry in the region tells me that this is about much more than a tortoise. This is perhaps best summed up by a direct quote by Nevada BLM director Amy Lueders
She said, “We are allowing people to congregate on public land as long as they don't inhibit the operation.”
This was in response to protestors showing up to support the rancher, being held in “corrals” by officials.
Hmmmm, "allowing" people to congregate on public land huh? Wow.
A federal government spending over $3 million to enforce a $1 million fine.
I would be willing to roll the dice here at any Las Vegas casino today that there is much more to this than meets the eye.
James D. Fulks III
Dunkirk

Appreciated
To the editor:
Did anyone see the woman cleaning up the trash heap out behind the old Marsh building?
I didn’t get her name, but I wish we had more people like her.
Thank you to her.
Carol Lambert
Portland[[In-content Ad]]