Rancher: States, not feds, should manage range lands in West
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada rancher who had his charges dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents insisted Tuesday that it’s up to the states, not the federal officials, how to manage vast expanses of rangeland in the U.S. West.
Some watching Cliven Bundy’s case think his message will find more traction under President Donald Trump, who has moved to open public lands to industry, than it did under former President Barack Obama.
But the states’ rights figure who has become an icon in conservative and anti-government circles said public land belongs to states, no matter who is in the White House.
“I don’t recognize the federal government to have authority, jurisdiction, no matter who the president is,” he said.