If you have been following the big story in southern Nevada, the Bundy's were basically ordered to stop their over 100 year old cattle ranch, because of some turtules. Well that was the official excuse, but the real reason seems more sinister. Yesterday, due to the federal government withholding evidence the Bundy trial was declared a mistrial.
From here the judge can further dismiss the trial, or the prosecution can choose to not retry this case, or give it another try. That will all be decided in about a month or so. But the real issue here is the use of "public" lands, whose use has been decreasing steadily, with the federal government claiming ownership and therefore control of the land. Per the U.S. Constitution, the federal government can only own a very small amount of land, not the massive amount of land over the western states, including the overwhelming majority of land in the state of Nevada. If you look at what the federal government claims to own in Nevada, there basically isn't a state, but just a few small pockets of separated land that is the state.
The EE is mentioning this because this entire case happened for what the government called environmental reasons, because protecting a turtle is environmental per the federal government, and because this case is about the public having access to public lands, like the U.S. citiaens have had forever now, but these days is constantly on the decrease.
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