BLM tries to contact Cliven Bundy - Family documenting damage done to land and livestock

 The Bureau of Land Management has tried to contact Cliven Bundy ever since the federal agency released the rancher’s cattle Saturday while facing a horde of protesters, but Bundy hasn’t opened any of the written messages. His son, Ammon Bundy, said four certified letters from the BLM arrived at the ranch Tuesday. So far, the 67-year-old Bunkerville resident has chosen not to open the envelopes. The word came Wednesday afternoon, when the Bundy family detailed property losses they said were caused by federal agents and BLM contract employees during the roundup. That includes unspecified numbers of dead cattle, the family said, and water trough equipment. Ammon Bundy said the family has found what they believe is a grave with their cattle buried in it. They also said they found a bull carcass with at least one gunshot they believe was fired from the air, probably from a helicopter. BLM spokesman Craig Leff would not comment Wednesday on the letters sent to Bundy. The agency also did not provide copies of the letters to the Review-Journal on Wednesday after the newspaper requested them or respond to Bundy family statements about damages to water equipment and dead and injured cattle. On Wednesday, the Bundys were still assessing damages to water equipment and tallying numbers of dead and injured cattle, which they are documenting with photographs. In a tour of his 160-acre ranch, Cliven Bundy showed the Review-Journal a 1-year-old bull calf with an injured leg. “That animal, if he lives, he’ll be lucky,” Cliven Bundy said. A brown calf — born in the BLM’s corral shortly before the agency released the cattle on Saturday — was at the ranch. “We named her Liberty,” Ryan Bundy, 41, one of Cliven’s sons, said. Among the damaged property on the public lands the family has used for range is a destroyed 12,000-gallon water tank. It was cut in pieces, Ryan Bundy said. The water equipment system pulls water from mountain springs, using gravity flow and pipes to supply tanks, which then feed into troughs. Ryan Bundy said the cows will find their way to water despite the equipment damage. “Our cattle are smart,” Ryan Bundy said. “They’ll go to where they need.”...more