Cattle Removal Begins Today in Southern Nevada
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Las Vegas – As provided in two Federal District Court orders, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Southern Nevada District Office and National Park Service (NPS) Lake Mead National Recreation Area today will begin removing cattle that have been grazing illegally on public land in Clark County for more than 20 years.
The BLM and the NPS have made repeated attempts to resolve this matter administratively and judicially. The agencies are now implementing two Federal District Court orders to remove the cattle. The BLM and NPS are working closely with local, state and federal officials to ensure that removal occurs in a safe and orderly manner.
As the BLM and NPS remove these unauthorized cattle from public lands, the agencies will put into effect temporary closures to some publicly accessible land to ensure the safety of the public, federal employees and contractor personnel. Every effort will be made to minimize the impacts on visitors and public land users while the gather operations are underway, and all temporary closures will be lifted once the removal is complete.
Areas temporarily closed to public access will be posted with signs, closure notices and the public can also find daily updates about the removal operation and closure areas on the BLM and NPS websites: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/more/trespass_cattle.html and http://www.nps.gov/lake/parknews/2014impoundment.htm.
For the convenience of the public, two areas have been designated for those wishing to express their freedom of speech. Permits are not needed to rally or protest in these locations: I-15 at Exit 112 for Riverside and State Route 170 and White Rock Road. Only one of these areas will be available at a time; Incident Command staff will determine daily location and it will be posted on BLM website at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/more/trespass_cattle/daily_public_land.html.
Editor’s Note - At 3 p.m. (Pacific), a media conference call will be conducted to provide information and answer media questions. Reporters interested in joining the call, should email nvtrespasscattle@gmail.com to obtain access information.
Media credentials are required to gain access to the media area and observation areas. To obtain credentials, please email nvtrespasscattle@gmail.com.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.