Where Bundy cows roam, desert damaged by pipes, ATVs

A large water tank, a trough and pipelines have been illegally installed on public lands in southern Nevada near the site of the Bureau of Land Management's ill-fated roundup of Cliven Bundy's cows, according to a new report by the conservation group Friends of Gold Butte. The report, shared exclusively with Greenwire, also documents what are believed to be several new all-terrain vehicle tracks that have damaged sensitive desert soils, unique red sand dunes and rare plants. Users have cut fences and torn down "road closed" signs, inviting future illegal ATV use, according to the report. All of the incidents are believed to have occurred over the past year at the Gold Butte Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, a 350,000-acre chunk of remote, scenic desertlands about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Conservationists and KEEN Inc., an outdoor footwear company, are campaigning for President Obama to protect the area as a national monument. But doing so would likely spark a backlash from Republicans and could mobilize anti-federal government activists who rallied to Bundy's defense in April 2014 when BLM tried to impound his cattle. Friends of Gold Butte Executive Director Jaina Moan said the report highlights grave threats to the area's historic sites, Native American petroglyphs and delicate desert habitats, and underscores an urgent need for protections.  The report by a half-dozen Friends of Gold Butte volunteers documents damage observed from November 2014 through last month...more