A tense, week-long showdown between the US government and armed supporters of a Nevada cattle rancher over grazing rights on federal land and about USD 1 million in back fees has apparently ended, media reports said today.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) stopped rounding up rancher Cliven Bundy's cattle and returned about 300 head of cattle to the open range to avoid the potential for violence, according to the BLM and CNN affiliate KSNV.
The Old West-style controversy -- centering on a family that has been ranching in Nevada since the 1800s -- drew armed militia groups from across the country to the cattleman's side this week, especially after a YouTube video captured a tussle teetering on violence between rangers and protesters.
The BLM said Bundy, who's in his 60s, owed about USD 1 million in back fees because his cattle grazed on federal land.
Yesterday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BLM's cattle gate, according to CNN affiliate KLAS. Some of them were armed.
"Due to escalating tensions, the cattle have been released from the enclosures in order to avoid violence and help restore order," the BLM said in a prepared statement.
Supporters of Bundy, some of them armed, forced a temporary shutdown of northbound lanes of Interstate 15 near his ranch yesterday, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
"Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public," said BLM director Neil Kornze.
The highway was reopened yesterday afternoon after protesters moved to the side of the road and stopping blocking it. But traffic was backed up for three miles in both directions, Trooper Loy Hixson said. He said nobody in the crowd threatened violence.
It was unclear whether Bundy and the BLM had come to an agreement on how to end the long-running conflict, CNN reported.
US Senator Dean Heller, appealed for calm and asked out- of-state supporters to return home.
"The dispute is over, the BLM is leaving, but emotions and tensions are still near the boiling point, and we desperately need a peaceful conclusion to this conflict," Heller said in a statement. "I urge all the people involved to please return to your homes and allow the BLM officers to collect their equipment and depart without interference.
