Here is the “notorious” missing BLM page connecting to Harry Reid (not)

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This is pretty funny...

This is a big laugh, but does have important info about Bundy’s rangeland harm-

For those who don’t want to discuss rangeland, wildlife, trespassing cattle, rare animals like tortoises, or Cliven Bundy’s damage to the public land, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is an impossible to ignore target. After all Senator Reid lives in Nevada like Cliven Bundy and he likes solar power. Does that make a connection? Of course not. However, a large number of solar farms are being built on the Nevada desert, often to the dismay of the Wildlife News. We have not been happy how these massive capital investments totally squash out any wildlife within their expansive site boundaries. These farms are real land eaters.

Mitigation for wildlife damage-

There is some feeble effort to try to mitigate the damage to wildlife. Some of it is near the sites of these bird-roasting solar mirrors. This is called “primary mitigation.” Some is makeup in a place distant to the solar power site. This is called “secondary mitigation.” Wildlife mitigation is things like planting grass and forbs wildlife need or like, development of new water sources for wildlife to drink, another is restoration of rangeland overgrazed by cattle, e.g., such as Cliven Bundy’s illegal grazing on a big piece of public land managed (in principle at least) by the BLM.

The aborted cattle roundup and the BLM’s missing web page-

Just before the roundup of Bundy’s cattle plus other miscellaneous feral cattle began, the BLM put up a web page listing Bundy’s harms. We thought it was really interesting and important. I linked to it in a story about the roundup. Then the link disappeared. This has become a “critical” missing link for those who want to tar Harry Reid rather than write about the marred beauty of the Gold Butte area where the illegal cattle eke out a living in the hot desert.

Fortunately, several days ago Ken Cole pulled the missing BLM page out of the Google Cache. I made it into a pdf file residing on our computer so that it won’t disappear again. Here it is. Northeast Clark County Cattle Trespass.

Here is most of it as text:

Examples of Recent Incidents of Private Property Damage Caused by Bundy’s Trespass Cattle

• One feral cow was hit by an automobile within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Cattle are frequently seen on public
  roads, including State Route 170 and pose a danger to vehicles and to members of the public traveling on public roads.
• Overton Wildlife Refuge (State of Nevada) employee attacked by a Bundy bull.
• Crop destroyed by Bundy cattle on private land.
• Mesquite Heritage Community Garden damaged by trespass cattle.
• Mesquite golf course damaged by trespass cattle.

Examples of Restoration Funding and Viability Impacted

• A $400,000 matching grant to restore Southwest Willow Flycatcher habitat along the Virgin River from the Walton Family
  Foundation was withdrawn until the trespass cattle have been removed.
• A $160,000 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act project to restore Southwestern Willow Flycatcher has been delayed until trespass cattle are removed.
• Non-Governmental Organizations have expressed concern that the regional mitigation strategy for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone utilizes Gold Butte as the location for offsite mitigation for impacts from solar development, and that those restoration activities are not durable with the presence of trespass cattle. [boldface is ours]
• The Nevada State Department of Wildlife has built extensive fences to protect state and federal lands protected as the Overton Wildlife Refuge from the trespass cattle.

Examples of Public Concerns

• Residents of the communities of Bunkerville and Mesquite have complained about the impact of cattle on city facilities. Within the last month, letters requesting action have also been received from several individuals, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Friends of Gold Butte and Friends of Joshua Tree Forest.
• The Center for Biological Diversity has demanded action to resolve trespass in designated critical desert tortoise habitat in several letters. Western Watersheds has requested a verbal status update and later filed a Freedom of Information Act request.

Examples of Natural and Cultural Resource Damage

• Cattle have crushed artifacts at the “Red Racer” and St. Thomas cultural sites.
• Damage to springs, including fecal contamination, trampling soils and vegetation and impacts to wildlife. Wildlife will avoid
  springs with large numbers of cattle.
• Damage to springs with sensitive amphibians, including the rare relict leopard frog.
• Multiple instances of vegetation damage to rare plants, including on monitoring plots after extensive wildfires within critical
  habitat for Desert Tortoise.
• Unauthorized reservoir constructed with bulldozer twice.

Where is the Reid connection? Those who see it insist that it is hidden in the point we boldfaced:

Non-Governmental Organizations have expressed concern that the regional mitigation strategy for the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone utilizes Gold Butte as the location for offsite mitigation for impacts from solar development, and that those restoration activities are not durable with the presence of trespass cattle.

This is bureaucratic language but all it means is that private groups like the Western Watersheds Project, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Friends of Gold Butte and Friends of Joshua Tree Forest don’t think the solar power damage elsewhere can be mitigated here at Gold Butte because the damn cattle will tromp all over it and sh!t on it.

Yes, but, but, but are not then Bundy’s cattle stopping the solar projects that Harry Reid wants so much? Of course not. They are gleefully ripping up the desert anyway without wildlife mitigation near Gold Butte.

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2014/04/15/here-is-the-notorious-missing-blm-page-connecting-to-harry-reid-not/

Edited April 19, 2014 by Porterhouse

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You mean all that right wing nutter hype was just that - hype? Again?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

You mean all that right wing nutter hype was just that - hype? Again?

Harry Reid may not be the most charismatic politician and he's an easy target to dislike, but line him up against the usual suspects from the Party of No, McCain, McConnell, Graham, #######, etc. and he shines like a beacon of virtue. The Right Wing media likes to go after him because he's been so vocal against powerful influence in government like the Koch Bros. Koch lovers hate when someone goes after their Kochs.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I don't take any of that hyped right wing nutter outrage seriously. Least of all when it's peddled feverishly by a self-proclaimed independent.