The Effort to Battle Big Government

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision upholding the government’s roundup of more than 1,600 wild horses along the Nevada-California line in 2010. The ruling, by the three judge panel in San Francisco rejected an appeal by horse advocates accusing the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of gathering too many mustangs which violates the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

Judge Carlos Bea concluded in the majority opinion that the BLM completed the necessary environmental reviews for the Twin Peaks roundup not far from the Oregon line, and that the court must defer to the agency’s expertise.

“In sum, the BLM’s actions fell within the discretion which courts have recognized the BLM has to remove excess animals,” he wrote.

BLM maintains the term “remove” should be interpreted to refer to the permanent removal of animals, not the temporary gathering of animals to decide which ones should be euthanized and which should be made available for adoption. The agency claims that if left unchecked, the herds could exceed 6,000 to 8,000 animals within a decade.

‘In Defense of Animals,’ argued the act prohibits the removal of any mustangs from horse management areas on the range before the agency first identifies old, sick or lame animals to be destroyed humanely, to which Judge Johnnie Rawlinson agreed in her dissent.

“The act couldn’t be clearer,” she wrote. “It is only after old sick or lame animals are destroyed that the act provides for additional excess wild horses to be captured.”

Two days before the ruling, a group of Utah residents rode all-terrain vehicles onto federally managed public lands to protest the BLM’s closing off of the area in Blanding. The protesters and their supporters say the agency has unfairly closed off a prized area, cheating them of outdoor recreation

However, federal officials say the region, known for its archaeological ruins, is in danger from overuse.  BLM Utah State Director Juan Palma, in a statement, said the riders may have damaged artifacts and dwellings of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

“The BLM was in Recapture Canyon…collecting evidence and will continue to investigate,” Palma said. “The BLM will pursue all available redress through the legal system to hold the lawbreakers accountable.”

Recapture Canyon is home to dwellings, artifacts and burials left some 2,000 years ago. The BLM closed the canyon to motor vehicles in 2007 after two men created ‘an illegal’ seven-mile trail, while hikers and those on horseback are still allowed there.

Bureau of Land Management officers recorded and documented protesters who traveled into the closure area. About 30 deputies and a handful of BLM law enforcement officers watched as protesters drove past a closure sign and down the canyon some 300 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.

San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge said between 40 and 50 people, many of them waving American flags drove about a mile down the canyon, then turned around. Hundreds attended a rally at a nearby park before the protest.

“It was peaceful, and there were no problems whatsoever,” the Eldredge told The Associated Press.

San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman organized the ride. The Commissioner and his supporters want the BLM to act more quickly on a years-old application for a public right-of-way through the area.

Earlier, BLM officials notified Lyman that any illegal travel in the area would bring consequences such as citations and arrest.  The protest comes weeks after Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s successful standoff against the agency over grazing rights.

As for the Bundy stand-off, the FBI is investigating whether anyone broke federal laws during the April 12th standoff, including threats against law enforcement officers and the use of illegal weapons.  Authorities say that while thy don’t want to inflame the situation, reports of people pointing weapons at law enforcement need to be investigated.

Las Vegas’ KLAS TV reported that the FBI is looking at pictures and videos taken during the standoff and questioning law enforcement officers who were a Bunkerville. They are also concerned about the possible involvement of anti-government groups.

The FBI has yet to name those groups publicly.

An estimated 300 people joined Bundy when the BLM began to round-up his cattle after he refused to vacate federally owned land and pay more than $1 million in fees. The faceoff that began last month is part of a two-decade-long fight between Bundy and the BLM.

The BLM halted the cattle roundup and is considering what to do next, including arresting Bundy for failing to follow the law, seizing his assets through the Treasury Department or sending the case to the Department of Justice.

But the battle isn’t contained to just Western States as the group, Patriot for America marched on Washington. Organizers had planned to call for the removal of Barack Obama, John Boehner, Eric Holder, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and anyone else who had ‘trampled on the constitution.’

“We are calling for (their) removal…as a start toward constitutional restoration,” said retired Army Colonel Harry Riley.’ “They have all abandoned the U.S. Constitution, are unworthy to be retained in a position that calls for servant status.”

The group expected between 10 million and 30 million people to meet them in the capital for a rally billed as “Operation American Spring,” however only around 250 supporters showed up.

During his radio program the day of the march, commentator Glenn Beck warned against the dangers of “spring-like” movements.

“So anybody who wants the American Spring, no thank you. I see how it’s worked out oh so well for those people in Egypt. No thank you,” Beck said.

“Look…what the government did in the Great Depression, before World War II,” he added. “Look at what they did to all of the veterans who were protesting in Washington for benefits — don’t think that they won’t turn your guns on you because they will. We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again.”