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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2016)
CALIFORNIA: DIE-OFFS FLUSTER BEEKEEPERS ON EVE OF ALMOND BLOSSOM FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 Courtesy of Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Mule deer would be among the species to benefi t if the state acquired a 5,000-acre ranch shown here in Lincoln County, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. WDFW scouts for more land to purchase VOLUME 89, NUMBER 5 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM The takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge jump-started the debate over how government manages rural land, but it didn’t end it. By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI and ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press T By DON JENKINS Capital Press Turn to LAND, Page 12 $2.00 CHANGE MAY BE HARDER Potential purchases include farm and grazing fi elds OLYMPIA — The Wash- ington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which owns or manages 1 million acres, has identified 10 more tracts of land it may buy. The properties total nearly 10,000 acres and range from a 5,542-acre ranch in Lincoln County in Eastern Washington to 13 acres of wetlands in Sno- homish County in Western Washington. Most of the properties have been used for livestock grazing or crop production. WDFW would set the land aside for hunting, fish- ing, recreation and wildlife preservation. Some land could be leased to ranch- ers or farmers, said Cynthia Wilkerson, WDFW land conservation and resto- ration section manager. WDFW now leases 83,763 acres for grazing and 22,181 acres for agri- culture statewide. WDFW estimates the 10 properties would collective- ly cost $13.3 million, though the department has not yet had the lands independently appraised or made offers to landowners, she said. WDFW will take public comments until Feb. 12 on whether to add the proper- ties to the 11 properties the department already plans to purchase in 2017-19. The bulk of the money would come from a state appropri- ation or federal grants. The 10 properties WDFW is seeking comment are: • Lincoln County: 5,542 acres of mostly shrub-steppe Page 4 The Associated Press photos A sign at the entrance to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge spells out some of the frustration Westerners have with fed- eral agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management. BELOW: An aerial view of the refuge headquarters compound. Area in detail 395 Or egon showdown Site of planned town hall meeting Tuesday, Jan. 26 ORE. 7 19 26 26 John Day WHEELER Prairie City 26 Canyon City MALHEUR NATIONAL FOREST GRANT CROOK 20 MALHEUR NATIONAL FOREST Seneca 41 miles of U.S. Highway 395 closed Tuesday, Jan. 26, during apprehension of Ammon Bundy and six other militants. 395 Burns Municipal Airport; staging area for law enforcement assets Burns Hines HARNEY 395 78 Malheur Lake Crane Harney Lake 78 Refuge headquarters; site of occupation by militant group N Turn to CHANGE, Page 12 20 205 Wagontire BAKER further polarizes the federal land debate. Experts say the incident is likely to reinforce opinions on both sides. he showdown be- tween federal agents and armed militants in Southeast Oregon will likely further polarize the public over the management of federal lands, experts say. For some, the recent killing of an armed protester and arrests of several others will buttress the view they were extremist militants with unrealistic goals. For others, the government’s actions and its siege of remaining protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge will con- fi rm fears of persecution by feder- al agencies. Whether the standoff will ul- timately lead to changes in the federal government’s oversight of the West’s vast public lands is also subject to varying interpretations. Char Miller, an environmental analysis professor at Pomona Col- lege, said that Ammon Bundy and the other armed protesters miscal- culated the public’s reaction to the occupation. MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Frenchglen 20 miles 205 Diamond Approximate site of Hammond Ranch Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness proposal unresolved Local opposition strong against 2.5 million-acre monument By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press The occupation of the Mal- heur National Wildlife Refuge may have been broken, but a divisive wilderness proposal remains unresolved in South- east Oregon. The underlying issues are familiar: Anger over federal land management and govern- ment “over-reach,” and frus- tration over loss of economic opportunity in the rural West. The Bend-based environ- mental group Oregon Natural Desert Association, backed by the Keen Footwear compa- ny of Portland, has proposed a 2.5 million acre Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness and conservation area. Ranchers and other Mal- heur County residents are dead set against it. “Not only no, but hell no,” prominent rancher Bob Skinner said. The Obama administration, which could establish the can- yonlands area by presidential proclamation, has given no sign what it will do. Many people speculate the adminis- tration did not want to throw gas on the fi re while the wild- life refuge occupation was go- ing on. “We don’t know where it is in the process, there’s nobody who knows that,” Skinner said. The proposed area is bigger than either the Yellowstone, Yosemite or Grand Canyon na- tional parks, critics point out, and would cover 40 percent of Malheur County. Residents believe designation would be accompanied by restrictions and regulations that would prohibit or severely compli- cate grazing, mining, hunting and recreation. While proponents say tradi- tional uses of the land will be allowed, a local group called Citizens in Opposition to the Owyhee Canyonlands Monu- ment does not believe them. Turn to MONUMENT, Page 12 5-7/#5