"Drought Pushes Nevada Ranchers to Take On Washington"

Drought which has left their own lands bare of forage is drivbing some Nevada rangers to graze their cattle illegally on federal land.

"BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nev. — Around here they call it 'going Bundy': allowing cattle to graze illegally on federally owned land. For months, ranching families in this tiny community have itched to do it — both because of the relentless drought, which has left their own land dry and their animals hungry, and because of the anti-Washington streak that runs deep in this part of the rural West, where people fervently believe that the government owns too much land.

Last month, the Filippini family finally did it: They released hundreds of cattle onto federal land here at the border of Lander and Humboldt Counties, an arid patch that straddles part of the old Pony Express cross-country mail route of 1860 and 1861. Drought has reduced the grass cover here to less than four inches of stubble in some creek beds, a level that leads to a ban on grazing.

The Filippinis drew inspiration from another Nevada rancher who did the same thing and, so far, has won. In the spring of last year, Cliven Bundy, from the southern Nevada town of Bunkerville, about 450 miles from here, became a household name when hundreds of his supporters faced down rangers from the Bureau of Land Management in an armed standoff."

Julie Turkewitz reports for the New York Times July 2, 2015.