Terri Farley

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Will BLM be Cowed by Ranchers, Miners?

Standing room only crowd at BLM's RMP meeting, Fallon, NV

May 19, 2015 Fallon, Nevada

About 170 people crowded elbow-to-elbow in the Churchill County Commission chamber. More spilled outside, eager to hear about BLM’s new Carson City Resource Management Plan (RMP) for public lands.

Along with a few other wild horse advocates, I came to dispute a plan that would zero-out bands of mustangs but leave livestock home on the range. BLM figures 4.8 million acres can sustain only 2,508 wild horses but 12,600 cattle.

Right off, the crowd was disappointed. BLM staff wouldn’t answer questions; they came to listen.

Four speakers mentioned wild horses and three represented the Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone tribes. The rest of the 6-8:30 pm comment period belonged to the Fallon Tea Party, mining and livestock industries. Samples from my notes:

"Churchill County is not Sherwood Forest and BLM is not the Sheriff of Nottingham" (speaker dons green Robin Hood hat)

"We have enough trees" "We have enough protected lands" "We got enough wilderness"

"We’re not going through a drought; it’s just a dry period and mining’s our cash cow"

"Looks like you’re going to drive people off the land"

"I hunt. My kids hunt and I don’t need no Master’s degree"

"Cattle are good for the range and mining is good for the water table"

Why worry? Throughout the West legislation is being introduced to prohibit the Federal government from managing lands within a state. That would mean an end to public lands and the meager protection afforded to range, water, vegetation, sacred sites, wild horses and other wildlife.

Remember Cliven Bundy, a rancher backed by an armed militia (ladies in front, please) protecting his “right” to skip out on a million dollars in grazing fees? On March 31 the Bundy Ranch gang, headed by Cliven’s son Ammon, are coming to the Nevada Assembly to support a Resource Rights Bill.
Nevadans only (sorry): Want to enter your opinion of AB408, which would turn all public lands over to the state? .Click here to vote AGAINST giving wild horse lands to ranchers & miners _______________________________________________________________________________ Please watch and listen for further developments.

Read Bundy’s letter to the folks, here at Ralston Reports

Labels: BLM, Bundy, Fallon, Jon Ralston, public lands, wild horses

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:19 PM 8 comments