Rancher Cliven Bundy denies firing gunshots near researchers

Nevada rancher and states’ rights advocate Cliven Bundy said Saturday that contract researchers for the federal Bureau of Land Management had no business being on rangeland where he grazes cattle, but he denied he or his supporters fired gunshots near them.

Three employees of a nonprofit Nevada organization told authorities they were monitoring water sources in the Gold Butte area, about 100 miles northeast of Las Vegas, on June 5 when they were approached by two men who asked what they were doing.

The researchers quickly left after six shots were fired later that night near their camp in an area that’s being considered for federal protection as a national conservation area. There were no injuries.

Las Vegas police are investigating the incident. Bureau of Land Management officials have declined to comment beyond a statement saying the shooting prompted them to take unspecified safety precautions in the area to protect their employees and contractors.

The incident follows a tense standoff in April 2014 between Bundy and the bureau after a federal judge authorized the agency to remove his cattle from public land. Bundy, who does not recognize the authority of the federal government, stopped paying grazing fees over 20 years ago and owes more than $1 million.