BLM state director speaks out about Bundy dispute

Supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy say the Bureau of Land Management is overstepping its boundaries. However, the agency maintains Bundy has been allowing his cattle to graze on public land illegally for 20 years. On Friday, the state director for the BLM talked about the situation. One of the biggest questions surrounding the roundup is the amount of security the agency has set up around the area. BLM State Director Amy Lueders says there is so much security because Bundy has said he would do whatever it takes to win the battle. "Well certainly we want to make sure that we can get the operation done safely. We want to make sure that we can get it done as expeditiously as possible to ensure that the public can go back and enjoy all of the public lands that are available for them and this beautiful state and certainly one of the reasons is the level of rhetoric that we have heard from Mr. Bundy," Lueders said. The Bundy family says they are not encouraging violence. Bundy and his supporters say the dispute is not about cattle or land, it is about their rights and too much federal control. Lueders disagrees and says the BLM is not overstepping its bounds. "We are taking this operation as a last resort. For the past 20 years, Mr. Bundy has not paid his grazing fees has operated outside of the law. The courts have ruled, and we have two court orders in the last year that have looked at the arguments of Mr. Bundy and have ruled that these are public lands, they're not his lands to do with as he sees. They have ruled that his cattle are in trespass. They have ordered him to remove his cattle and the courts have authorized the Bureau of Land Management to remove those cattle, if Mr. Bundy does not do it himself," she said. Lueders also says two bulls had to be killed during cattle removal because they were a threat to employees and the public. However, she says no other cattle has been injured and 352 out of 500 animals have been collected. As for a cost for all of this, she says there is no estimate yet.  KLAS-TV