14 CapitalPress.com
January 8, 2016
Standoff
Occupiers want federal lands turned over to ranchers, loggers
BURNS, Ore. (AP) — A
leader of the small, armed
group of people occupying a re-
mote national wildlife preserve
in Oregon said Tuesday they
will go home when a plan is in
place to turn over management
of federal lands to locals.
Ammon Bundy told report-
ers at the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge that ranchers,
loggers and farmers should
have control of federal land
— a common refrain in a de-
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lands in the West.
“It is our goal to get the log-
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son of Nevada rancher Cliven
Bundy, who was involved in a
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the government over grazing
rights.
The younger Bundy’s an-
ti-government group is critical
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environmentalists and others
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ation and the environment.
The armed group seized the
refuge’s headquarters Saturday
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Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press
Members of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters stand guard Jan.
4 near Burns, Ore. The group calls itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and has sent a “demand
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centered around a complex of
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mile preserve in the high desert.
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to remove or arrest them.
Bundy’s stated goals didn’t
set well with American Indians,
who have denounced the occu-
pation and asserted a superior
claim to the property.
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The Associated Press
An attorney
for two Oregon
ranchers whose
impending pris-
on sentences
led an armed
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Dwight
over a national
wildlife refuge Hammond
says they will
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from the presi-
dent.
Kendra M.
Matthews,
a lawyer for
Dwight
and
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Steven Ham- Hammond
mond,
said
Monday that the father and
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were convicted of arson for
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some prison time.
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that their terms were too short
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prison. Matthews reiterated
that the Hammonds intend to
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serving their terms.
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a rallying cry for the group
who say they ultimately want
to turn over the refuge land
to local authorities so people
can use it free of U.S. over-
sight.
The leader of an Oregon
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the armed group opposed to
federal land policy says the ac-
tivists aren’t welcome and need
to leave.
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Charlotte Rodrique told report-
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cultural artifacts. She says the
group is “desecrating one of our
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Rodrique said she “had to
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“We have no sympathy for
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she said.
Rodrique said the Paiute
people spent winters in the area
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trappers arrived.
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pected the government to honor
the agreement to protect their
interests, though the U.S. Sen-
ate never approved it.
Bundy’s anti-government
group is critical of federal land
stewardship. But environmen-
talists and others say U.S. of-
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vironment.
Randy Eardley, a Bureau of
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said the group’s call for land
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sense.
“It is frustrating when I hear
the demand that we return the
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ed States owns that land. ...
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for its owners, the people, and
whether it’s for recreating, for
grazing, for energy and mineral
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Bundy said the group felt
it had the support of the local
community, and had originally
said the group would leave if
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ty. But the county sheriff has
told the group to go home, and
many locals don’t want them
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ing was scheduled for later
Wednesday, after the Capital
Press deadline.
The group, calling itself Cit-
izens for Constitutional Free-
dom, said it wants an inquiry
into whether the government is
forcing ranchers off their land
after Dwight Hammond and his
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prison Monday.
The Hammonds, who have
distanced themselves from the
group, were convicted of arson
three years ago and served no
more than a year. A judge later
ruled that the terms fell short of
minimum sentences requiring
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years.
Such land disputes date
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er states pushed for local
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Supporters wanted more land
for cattle grazing, mining and
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By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Add the Oregon Cattle-
men’s Association to the list
of groups that don’t approve
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Burns.
In a prepared statement
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O’Keeffe noted that Harney
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ing with federal agencies on
wildlife issues in particular.
“Furthermore,
OCA
does not support illegal
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government. This includes
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ernment property, such
as the Malheur Wildlife
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Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
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However, OCA Execu-
tive Director Jerome Rosa
said the organization con-
tinues to support Burns-area
ranchers Dwight and Steven
Hammond, who reported
to federal prison Monday
to serve additional time
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tencing was a “classic case
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calling for clemency.
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at the Nevada ranch of his
father, Cliven Bundy, over
the family’s non-payment
of federal grazing fees. The
younger Bundy and fellow
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Hammonds.
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heur National Wildlife Ref-
uge headquarters during the
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end when it was closed and
vacant.
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pear to have few if any ties
to the case or to the local
area.
Ironically, as O’Keeffe
referenced, Harney County
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ly with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and oth-
er local, state and federal
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itat for greater sage grouse.
The voluntary conserva-
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county ranchers set a stan-
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on private property through-
out the West and are credit-
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off the federal endangered
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A county rancher, Tom
Sharp, coined the phrase
that summed up the col-
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O’Keeffe said the OCA
is circulating an online peti-
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to review the Hammonds’
case.