I dont know HOW our federal government gained property rights to over 90% of all land in NV, but there apparently was at the time of NVs statehood a clause in their state constitution that said lands which were not privatized would refer back to the U.S. Govt even after they became a state. Cliven Bundy may be WRONG, and I am the first to say that we may all have to eat crow on this case :( Here are some facts from another NV case back in the 1990s: U.S. v. GARDNER NO. CV-N-95-328-DWH. 903 F.Supp. 1394 (1995) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Cliff GARDNER and Bertha Gardner, Defendants. United States District Court, D. Nevada. October 2, 1995. FINDINGS OF FACT There is no genuine issue as to the following facts: 1. On February 2, 1848, the land that makes up the State of Nevada was ceded to the United States by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 9 Stat. 922. 2. Article V of the Treaty defines the boundary line between the United States and Mexico which defines the territorial expanse of the two republics. Id. at 926-28. The Treaty, in relevant part, resulted in Mexicos cession of lands to the United States. These lands included the present day State of Nevada. 3. Since 1848, the United States has exercised its sovereign and proprietary rights over this property, including the imposition of certain tracts under the general land laws, the transfer of specific lands to the State of Nevada, and the reservation of other tracts for various purposes. 4. For example, in 1891, Congress authorized the President to set apart and reserve Forest Reserves from the public domain. 26 Stat. 1103. Beginning in 1906, the President used this authority to establish a number of forest reserves in Nevada. These reserves were soon consolidated into the Humboldt and Toiyabe National Forests. 5. On March 21, 1864, the United States Congress enacted the Nevada Statehood statute which authorized the residents of the Nevada Territory to elect representatives to a convention for the purpose of having Nevada join the Union. Nevada Statehood Act of March 21, 1864, 13 Stat. 30 (1864). Among its provisions, the Act granted certain tracts of United States public lands to the State when it entered the Union. See, Id., §§ 7-10 (1864). 6. In addition, the Nevada Statehood statute required the convention to adopt an ordinance agreeing and declaring that the inhabitants of the Territory of Nevada forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory.... Id. at § 4. 7. Nevadas Constitutional convention accepted Congresss invitation to become a state and passed the Constitution of the State of Nevada, which includes an ordinance that states in relevant part: That the people inhabiting said territory do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States. leagle/decision/19952297903FSupp1394_12104
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 03:08:03 +0000
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