NEW MEXICO FEDERAL LANDS NEWS
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In 1998 a federal district court permanently enjoined Bundy from grazing livestock within the Bunkerville allotment. Bundy filed an appeal and in 1999 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied his appeal and affirmed the lower court’s order.
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In 2011, BLM sent Bundy a notice of intent to roundup his cattle.
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In 2013 a federal district court ordered Bundy to remove his cattle within 45 days and authorized the feds to impound any cattle that were not removed. Bundy appealed and lost.
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In March of 2014, BLM issued a notice of intent to impound Bundy’s cattle, and on April 5, 2014 the roundup began.
by Frank Dubois
The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the mistrial in the Bundy case
Bundy Boondoggle
T
he saga of Cliven Bundy and his battles with the feds over livestock grazing go back many years. From a strictly administrative/legal basis, here is a quick summary: ЇЇ
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In 1993, BLM sent Bundy a notice of trespass and an order to remove his cattle
SEPTEMBER 2020
This was a large operation for the feds, as the court recently summarized: BLM made extensive preparations for “Operation Gold Butte Impound.” Coordinating with agents from the National Park Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation, BLM anticipated resistance from Bundy and his
supporters. It planned to escort the contractors in and out of the area each day. BLM established a Listening Post/Observation Post (LP/OP) “strategically placed at elevated positions around the Bundy residence each evening” where agents were outfitted with binoculars, spotting scopes, night-vision goggles, and thermal-imaging devices. The LP/OP personnel were to have “agency-issued rifles with them at all times.” BLM also established a Tactical Operations Center (TOC), Forward Operating Base (FOB), a media site, and a “free speech area.” I and many others have written about what transpired during the so-called standoff and there is no need to repeat it here, as our interest today is in the court case. Suffice it to say the feds backed down and left, handing a major victory to Bundy and his supporters. I vividly remember both the surprise and joy I personally experienced at this outcome. However, in March of 2016 a federal grand jury indicted nineteen individuals, including Cliven Bundy and his two sons, Ammon and Ryan, for a slate of federal crimes, including impeding federal officers, threatening federal officers, and extortion, as well as conspiracy to commit those
