Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Nevada ranchers horseback riding to White House in protest - video

CARSON CITY, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) -- A group of ranchers are heading to Washington D.C. on horseback to protest limitations to grazing rights on federal land. They rallied in Carson City and stopped at Governor Sandoval’s office on Monday.

The ranchers with the Grass March Cowboy Express began their journey a few days ago in California and they are heading to the White House hoping to change the future of public lands. The group said it is mainly protesting the grazing allowance it has been issued by the Bureau of Land Management.

"It's just a whole different system then what we're used to, they've just disrupted our whole way of life is what they’ve done," said Lynn Tomera.

The ranchers said they are hoping over the next few weeks to bring awareness to land and environmental issues. "We have had cuts and I don't know if we're ever going to ever get them back," said Arlo Crutcher.

The BLM said it recently changed some grazing allotments for ranchers because of drought conditions. They emailed News 4 a statement that said:

"BLM Nevada attempted to work with the individuals who graze their cows on an area of public lands known as the Argenta Allotment to develop a plan for reduced use that would correspond to the current drought conditions. These cooperative efforts were rejected which forced the Bureau of Land Management to temporarily prohibit grazing on the parts of the Argenta Allotment that had already surpassed recommended use levels."

Still, one rancher said she believes grazing rights on federal land are being taken away for the wrong reasons. "The drought really isn't an issue on our range because we've got some good, good range, we've got some good grass, and there really was no reason for them to keep us off the range," said Tomera.

Many ranchers said the cuts have affected their lifestyle, so they hope their coast-to-coast trip of 2,800 miles to Washington D.C. on horseback will make a difference.

The BLM said it is working with hunters, nature lovers and others who rely on public lands to appropriately adjust land uses during this prolonged drought. It also said it will continue to work closely with all land users to make appropriate and timely adjustments while the severe drought continues.


Show me where they have cut back on hunting as a result of the drought.  What "adjustments" has BLM imposed on nature lovers?  Nothing but outhouse soup if you ask me.

Here is the KRNV video report:

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