In 2016, a group of armed men occupied an Oregon federal wildlife refuge as a protest
against federal land ownership.
This follows two events: The first was a case where ranchers set fire to federal land, leading
to what some considered excessive punishment.
The other concerned the two Bundy brothers leading the occupying armed group.
Their father, Cliven (CLIVE-en) Bundy, refused to pay grazing fees while using federal land,
leading to a standoff with the US Bureau of Land Management in 2014.
Many of his supporters believe that the federal government has overstepped its bounds by controlling
roughly half the land in the western United states.
So, should the US government own so much land?
Well, today the federal government holds between 29 and 81 percent of the land in 12 western
states, and roughly 640 million acres throughout the US in total.
The Bureau of Land Management, as well as other managing federal agencies frequently
run up against those who believe the land should be available to them.
Laws like the 1862 Homestead Act intended to give land to those who were willing to
settle and work on it.
But the government realized that certain land granting policies were being defrauded by
those rich enough to grab huge tracts of land.
In 1891, President Benjamin Harrison made it possible to set aside federal land on behalf
of the American public rather than giving it away.
In particular, ranchers Cliven Bundy have long used federal land for grazing cattle.
However, environmental concerns throughout the 20th century led to stricter regulations
of land usage, and the introduction of grazing fees.
Bundy argued that because the land is also purposed for hiking and camping, he has all
the same rights to use it for his cattle.
But opponents point out that the personal economic benefit, coupled with the overall
damage to the environment, make the two examples incomparable.
This movement culminated in the Sagebrush Rebellion in the 1970s and 80s, where ranchers,
miners, and other land users demanded more state control instead of federal control.
Besides environmental arguments, opponents of the Rebellion argued that individual states
would be insufficiently prepared to maintain national monuments and important preserves.
In the end, groups like the Bundy brothers argue that the government is hurting those
who want to continue using federal land to support their livelihood.
Meanwhile, others point out that this usage is intentionally regulated.
The BLM primarily exists to find a balance between grazing, mining, recreation, conservation,
and revenue gathering, and by turning that land over to state and local control, it is
possible that balance would be subverted.
The U.S. Government has over 500 wildlife refuges that aim to protect habitats and benefit
the public.
Do they actually work?
Find out in this video by DNews.
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