Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy owes more money to the federal government for outstanding grazing fees than all other ranchers combined, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
While Bundy owes more than a $1 million to the BLM, the total sum of all other late grazing fees totals a comparatively small $237,000, according to BLM data first reported by E&E News.
Bundy owes more than $1 million to the federal government for late grazing and trespassing fees, which he has been accruing since the 1990’s and refusing to pay. The dispute over those fees came to a head in April when Bundy and his supporters ended up in an armed standoff with federal officials.
Bundy has refused to accept federal authority, and refuses to pay the fees, but according to the new data, that makes him an anomaly. Roughly 16,000 public land ranchers graze cattle, sheep and other livestock on more than 21,000 allotments on 155 million acres of public land, according to the BLM. Only 458 of those ranchers have any late fees, meaning 97% are regularly paying their bills on time. Meanwhile, 99% of those who have outstanding fees are less than 60 days late with those payments, meaning Bundy’s 20 years’ worth outstanding fees are a big outlier.
“The vast majority of BLM grazing permittees pay their fees on time,” BLM spokesman Craig Leff said in a statement.









