SATURDAY APRIL 23, 2005 Last modified: Friday, April 22, 2005 11:25 PM PDT

Members of the Nevada Committee for Full Statehood and others hold up "Bye Bye BLM" bumper stickers at the site of a newly unveiled billboard Thursday along Interstate 80 east of Battle Mountain. (Ross Andréson/Elko Daily Free Press)

Statehood vs. BLM: Billboard highlights opposition to federal law enforcement

By JEFFRY MULLINS, Free Press Editor

ELKO - Nevada Committee for Full Statehood unveiled a billboard Thursday along Interstate 80 opposing law enforcement by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The statehood group believes land controlled by BLM legally belongs to the State of Nevada. Its members are opposed to law enforcement by BLM agents, and say county sheriffs have sovereign authority on public lands.

The billboard, located near the Argenta turnoff east of Battle Mountain, includes a photo from a November 2001 incident in which a BLM agent pointed a gun at a protester during a controversial auction of livestock impounded by the agency at the Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Facility north of Reno.

Jeanne Voigts of Genoa took the photo of BLM Ranger C.J. Ross as he pointed his gun at Kenny Greenwell, a Fallon construction contractor. According to Voigts, Greenwell was carrying a holstered gun and, when he placed it in the bed of his truck, Ross confronted him.

The ranger pulled his gun and ordered Greenwell to get down on the ground, Voigts said. So she reached into her car for her camera and took a picture.

Voigts said she yelled at Ross to "calm down," and he immediately holstered his weapon and walked away.

Ross and Greenwell gave different accounts of what happened prior to the standoff, each claiming the other had provoked the incident.

The statehood committee and other protesters had been watching the livestock auction from outside the gates of the facility. The cattle were taken from Esmeralda County rancher Ben Colvin after he failed to pay grazing fees, complaining the BLM had allowed wild horses and burros to overgraze his allotments.

Nevada BLM Director Bob Abbey did not address the law enforcement issue in his response to the billboard.

"We respect everyone's opinions pertaining to the management of their public lands," Abbey said. "However, I am not going to waste a lot of time worrying about the few people whose only purpose is to create controversy and conflict. Our time is better spent working with the 99.5 percent of the public with whom we work in partnership to appropriately manage their public lands.

"I believe we can achieve our many common goals by focusing our attention on the many opportunities we have to work together, rather than constantly debating the merits of federal, state or local ownership," Abbey said.

Last year, the BLM proposed giving rangers expanded authority to enforce drug and alcohol regulations on public land.

According to BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson, Abbey has decided not to invoke the rules statewide, and instead will meet with the sheriffs of each county to coordinate law enforcement on public lands.

The statehood committee raised funds to erect the billboard and plans to place more along other roadways.

"Glad to see it finally become a reality," Greenwell said of the billboard at its unveiling. "This gives the people of the state of Nevada an idea what happens when BLM and Forest Service can steal cattle without due process of law and without a court order."

Voigts said, "I'm excited that the billboard is finally up to show the public what I believe the federal government in Nevada are capable of doing in threatening our public citizens."

O.Q. Chris Johnson of Elko, chairman of the Nevada Committee for Full Statehood, said the goal is to raise $10,000. He may be reached for further information at 934-6302.