Rancher Cliven Bundy said Thursday there’s a virtual army of people
across the country “ready and eager” to come to his side should he ask
for help when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) begins impounding his
cattle in the coming days and weeks.
During an interview Thursday morning with the
Desert Valley Times
at his Bunkerville ranch, Bundy and his wife, Carol, listed several
names and organizations who not only agree with the embattled rancher in
his fight with the BLM but have promised to stand beside him if he
chooses to confront federal authorities and “contract cowboys” rounding
up his livestock. Thursday was the first day the BLM began temporary closures of hundreds
of thousands of acres of public land in northeast Clark County including
Gold Butte, Mormon Mesa and Bunkerville Flats, as the next step to
impounding Bundy’s estimated 500 to 900 cattle. Kristen
Cannon, public affairs specialist at the BLM’s Southern District office
in Las Vegas, said about 322,000 acres of public land were closed
Thursday, including 288,000 acres of BLM land, 17,000 acres of Bureau of
Reclamation land and 17,000 acres of National Park Service land. The
entire roundup is expected to be finished by May 12, less than seven
weeks. Over the
next several weeks, the BLM apparently will close individual public
areas, and use contract cowboys to round up and then transport cattle
found in those areas. Ground personnel, a plane and helicopter will play
a role in collecting the cattle that eventually will be trucked out. Bundy
said the government action is completely out of line, but for the
immediate future, he was taking a “wait-and-see” attitude.“Most
of the people are ready for this (to support him) but just don’t know
when it’s going to start,” Bundy said. “Let them (the BLM) start their
‘dirty work’ of stealing my cattle, and then we’ll see.”...
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