Multiple sources are claiming that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is standing down in their confrontation over cattle at the Bundy Ranch in Nevada, thanks to negotiations with Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.

The Bureau of Land Management has announced it will stop the roundup of cattle owned by rancher Cliven Bundy. The BLM says the animals have been illegally grazing on public lands for 20 years.

The BLM made the announcement Saturday morning, a week after rangers started gathering the animals from land near Gold Butte.

The agency says it is concerned about the safety of its employees and the public. Eariler this week, BLM officers and supporters of the Bundy family were involved in a scuffle. Cliven Bundy’s son, Ammon Bundy, was tased twice by federal agents. Another woman said she was thrown to the ground by an officer.

With more Bundy supporters pouring in from around the country, safety concerns began to grow.

The I-Team has learned the deal to end the gather was brokered by Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie.

According to sources, the BLM wants to proceed with the sale of the cattle already gathered during the roundup but is reportedly willing to share the revenue from the sale with Bundy.

Sheriff Gillespie has been negotiating with Bundy behind the scenes for months reached a tentative agreement Friday night, though Bundy insisted the sheriff come to his ranch to finalize the arrangement face-to-face.

This sounds as if the BLM were worried about the possibility for violence as more arms citizens were arriving in opposition to the federal government’s efforts.

This is is a wise withdrawal by the federal government, as tensions were only escalating around Bunkerville. This does not remotely mean that the underlying conditions have changed in the least, however. The BLM still maintains that the Bundy Ranch is illegally grazing cattle on public lands, and the Bundy family still maintains that their grazing rights  precede and supersede anything since mandated by the BLM.

Consider this a “time out.”

We’ll have more on the (temporary?) deescalation of the situation as events become more clear.