Jury selection ended last week in the trial of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. It’s the latest chapter in his long-running saga of conflict with the federal government over intentionally grazing his cattle on public land while refusing to obey the law and pay for the privilege. It’s also a conflict with a Colorado connection.
Most ranchers pay the grazing fee to have their cattle on public lands. At this point Bundy has racked up more than a million dollars in fees – fees that are below market value – paid for each head of cattle. But in 2014, Bundy and his sons led an armed standoff against federal agents in Bunkerville, Nevada, who came to enforce the law and impound his cattle. Bundy was arrested two years later.
Depending on the trial’s outcome, anyone exploring public lands in Colorado and the rest of the rural West could feel its impact. Read a recap of how the conflict came to court, and where it might lead, at Colorado Public Radio’s website: http://www.cpr.org/news/story/cliven-bundy-stands-trial-western-public-lands-colorado-connection
