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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2016)
OFF PAGE ONE Tuesday, January 5, 2016 Key things to know about federal land ownership By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press An armed group occu- pying the headquarters of a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon wants the federal government to relinquish the land to local RI¿FLDOVVRLWEHFRPHVPRUH accessible for ranching, PLQLQJDQGRWKHUXVHV /HVV YLVLEOH HIIRUWV WR wrest control of federal lands date back more than a century LQ WKH :HVW ZKHUH WKH 86 government manages most RIWKHODQGLQVRPHVWDWHV How much land does the government own? ,W controls about a million square miles, mostly in the West, according to the Congressional Research 6HUYLFH ,W RZQV SHUFHQW RI 1HYDGD SHUFHQW RI Utah, 62 percent of both ,GDKR DQG $ODVND DQG SHUFHQWRI2UHJRQ Most of the land is PDQDJHG E\ 86 DJHQFLHV including the Forest Service, %XUHDX RI /DQG 0DQDJH- ment, Fish and Wildlife 6HUYLFH DQG 1DWLRQDO 3DUN 6HUYLFH The federal government DOVRRZQVVLJQL¿FDQWSRUWLRQV of California and Wyoming, at 48 percent each; Arizona, at 42 percent; Colorado, at SHUFHQW 1HZ 0H[LFR DW SHUFHQW 0RQWDQD DW 29 percent; and Washington VWDWHDWSHUFHQW How did the government acquire so much land? As the country expanded West, the federal government sought to protect some areas, such as Yellowstone 1DWLRQDO 3DUN LQ DQG took control in the 1900s of unclaimed areas that were generally too harsh and GLI¿FXOW IRU KRPHVWHDGHUV WR PDNHDOLYLQJ )RU H[DPSOH WKH 86 %XUHDXRI/DQG0DQDJHPHQW administers much of the sagebrush steppe of the Great %DVLQ ZKLFK LV KDELWDW IRU the imperiled sage grouse but XQVXLWDEOHIRUIDUPLQJ Is the land-control conÀict new? 1R 7KH debate over management of federal land has spanned GHFDGHV6RPHVWDWHRI¿FLDOV and others contend that state control would mean less regulation and greater freedom for ranchers, miners, recreationists and others, ERRVWLQJVWDWHLQFRPH Critics of that view say the land would be too expensive for states to maintain and would be sold off to private interests, cutting off access to WKHSXEOLF Congress approved a law LQVD\LQJWKDWUHPDLQLQJ public land would stay under IHGHUDOFRQWURO What efforts are states making to control federal land? State lawmakers, QRWDEO\ LQ 8WDK DQG ,GDKR have sought a legal way to WDNH FRQWURO RI IHGHUDO ODQG +RZHYHU ,GDKR $WWRUQH\ *HQHUDO /DZUHQFH :DVGHQ has said the state’s consti- tution gave up claims to the ODQG ZKHQ ,GDKR MRLQHG WKH XQLRQ Congress has the authority to turn over federal land to the states, but efforts to pass such a law have IDLOHGVRIDU What’s special about the land in Oregon? Pres- ident Theodore Roosevelt FUHDWHGWKH0DOKHXU1DWLRQDO :LOGOLIH 5HIXJH LQ $GPLQLVWHUHG E\ WKH 86 Fish and Wildlife Service, WKH VTXDUHPLOH UHIXJH is partly a marshland that’s a key rest area in the Oregon high desert for migrating ELUGV The number of migrating VKRUHELUGV TXDOL¿HV WKH refuge as a Regional Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve, the wildlife service VD\V ,W DOVR VXSSRUWV PRUH than 20 percent of the state’s breeding population of greater sandhill cranes, as ZHOODVPDQ\RWKHUVSHFLHV %LUGLQJ LV D SRSXODU pastime at the refuge, which also draws anglers, hunters DQGZLOGOLIHZDWFKHUV East Oregonian RESPONSE: )HGGH¿QLWLRQ of terrorism requires an act ‘dangerous to human life’ Continued from 1A come up with a different scenario if these weren’t ZKLWH&KULVWLDQV´ “There seems to be somewhat of a reluctance to think white people are as dangerous as people of FRORU´ VDLG +HLGL %HLULFK GLUHFWRU RI WKH ,QWHOOLJHQFH Project at the Southern 3RYHUW\/DZ&HQWHUZKLFK WUDFNVKDWHJURXSV %XW RWKHU REVHUYHUV suggested that from a tactical standpoint, the government’s cautious response would make sense no matter who was holed up in the government building LQWKHUHVHUYH “These guys are out in the middle of nowhere, and they haven’t threatened DQ\ERG\ WKDW , NQRZ RI´ said Jim Glennon, a long- time police commander who QRZRZQVWKH,OOLQRLVEDVHG law enforcement training RUJDQL]DWLRQ &DOLEUH 3UHVV ³7KHUH¶VQRKXUU\,IWKHUH¶V not an immediate threat to anyone’s life, why create a situation where there would be?” ,QVWHDG KH DQG RWKHUV H[SHFWHG WKH )%, WR XVH D negotiator to try to persuade the group to leave peace- IXOO\ Anti-government momentum AP Photo/Rick Bowmer Les ZaitzThe Oregonian via AP Members of the group occupying the Malheur Nation- al Wildlife Refuge headquarters stand guard Monday near Burns. A sign tacked outside a Burns home reflects growing community sentiment that outsider militia aren’t wel- come, in mid-December 2015. REFUGE: Hammonds have distanced themselves from the group Continued from 1A ZLOG¿UHV The men served their original sentences — three months for Dwight and RQH \HDU IRU 6WHYHQ %XW DQ appeals court judge ruled the terms fell short of minimum sentences that require them to serve about four more \HDUV Their sentences have been a rallying cry for the group, whose mostly male members said they want federal lands turned over to local authori- ties so people can use them IUHHRI86RYHUVLJKW The father and son reported to a federal prison Monday in California, said Harney County Sheriff 'DYLG:DUG+HSURYLGHGQR RWKHUGHWDLOV The Hammonds have distanced themselves from the protest group and many locals, including people who want to see federal lands made more accessible, don’t want the activists here, fearing they PD\EULQJWURXEOH Schools in the small town RI %XUQV DERXW PLOHV from the refuge, were closed for the week out of concern IRUVWXGHQWVDIHW\ For the moment, the federal government was doing nothing to remove WKHPEXWWKH)%,VDLGLWZDV PRQLWRULQJWKHVLWXDWLRQ7KH White House said President %DUDFN2EDPDZDVDZDUHRI the situation and hopes it can EHUHVROYHGSHDFHIXOO\ The refuge was estab- lished in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt to protect bird populations that had been decimated by plume hunters selling feathers for WKHKDWLQGXVWU\ ,WVLWVLQDZLGHVQRZFRY- ered valley rimmed by distant mountains and contains lakes DQGPDUVKODQG7KHSUHVHUYH has grown over the years to DERXW VTXDUH PLOHV DQG surrounds the ranch Dwight Hammond bought with KLV IDWKHU LQ 'ZLJKW Hammond said his family has resisted pressure to sell the ranch as the federal government chipped away at his grazing allotments and LQFUHDVHGIHHVRQRWKHUODQGV The refuge contains about 10 small buildings, some of which had been entered E\ WKH RFFXS\LQJ JURXS Other members of the group blocked the entrance to the KHDGTXDUWHUV The takeover prompted an outcry far beyond Oregon from both those who want to see federal lands opened to more ranching and logging and others who were astounded that private FDQGLGDWH 6HQ 7HG &UX] of Texas said he hoped the group would “stand down peaceably” with no violent confrontation “sooner rather WKDQODWHU´ $PPRQ %XQG\ VDLG KLV group had sent a demand for “redress for grievances” to local, state and federal RI¿FLDOV 7KH JURXS ZKLFK included a couple of women and some boys and girls Monday, did not release a FRS\RILWVGHPDQGV%XQG\ would not say what the group would do if it got no UHVSRQVH “We have exhausted all prudent measures and have EHHQLJQRUHG´KHVDLG $WWKHWLPHRIWKH%XQG\V¶ 1HYDGD VWDQGRII WKHUH ZHUH PLOOLRQ LQ outstanding grazing fees, and no payments have been PDGH VLQFH WKHQ 7KH IHHV continue to accrue, although %XUHDXRI/DQG0DQDJHPHQW VSRNHVZRPDQ %HY :LQVWRQ FRXOGQ¶W JLYH D VSHFL¿F XSGDWHG¿JXUHRQWKHGHEW The disputes harken back to a long-running struggle over public lands between some Westerners and the Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP Protesters watch after taking over a watch tower at federal government, which the National Wildlife headquarters in Burns on Sunday. owns nearly half the land in citizens with guns could WKH%XQG\VIURPWKHLUVWDQGRII WKH:HVW ,Q WKH V GXULQJ WKH seize government property in his state, said the group “Sagebrush Rebellion,” without any intervention by could not continue breaking the law, but that everyone 1HYDGD DQG RWKHU VWDWHV ODZHQIRUFHPHQW pushed for local control over The tactics of the VKRXOGUHPDLQSDWLHQW “These people say we IHGHUDO ODQG 6XSSRUWHUV RI %XQG\V DQG WKH JURXS ZHUH condemned by Democrats want to return (the land) to that idea want to open more WKHSHRSOH´5HLGVDLG³7KH land available for cattle DQG5HSXEOLFDQVDOLNH grazing, mining and timber 6HQ+DUU\5HLGD1HYDGD SHRSOHKDYHLWULJKWQRZ´ Republican presidential KDUYHVWLQJ Democrat who is familiar with Diabetes Education Series Diabetes Self Management Series January 14 th , 21 st , 28 th & February 4 th Page 9A Among those leading the occupiers was Ammon %XQG\ WKH VRQ RI 1HYDGD UDQFKHU &OLYHQ %XQG\ 7KH HOGHU %XQG\ PDGH headlines in 2014, when hundreds of armed anti-government activists rallied to his defense after federal authorities started seizing his cattle over more than $1 million in unpaid JUD]LQJIHHV ,Q&OLYHQ%XQG\¶VFDVH federal authorities and /DV 9HJDV SROLFH UHWUHDWHG and let him have his cattle back rather than escalate WKH FRQIURQWDWLRQ :KLOH RI¿FLDOV KDYH VDLG WKDW federal authorities are investigating, no one has been charged with a crime, even though authorities said some of those involved had trained their weapons RQSROLFH7KH)%,GHFOLQHG WRFRPPHQW0RQGD\ The Southern Poverty /DZ &HQWHU ZDV TXLFN WR say that the failure to hold anyone accountable was a major victory that embold- ened anti-government groups around the country and led directly to the situa- WLRQLQ2UHJRQ “They got away with something pretty serious,” %HLULFK VDLG ³<RX KDYH a bunch of emboldened people who think weapons can be used to settle their disputes with the federal JRYHUQPHQW´ 0LFKDHO %DUNXQ DQ emeritus professor at Syra- cuse University who has studied extremist groups, agreed that not confronting the Oregon group could HPEROGHQ RWKHUV 2Q WKH other hand, however, some extremists crave such a ¿JKW “You can say, well, a negotiated settlement HPEROGHQV WKHP´ KH VDLG ³%XW E\ WKH VDPH WRNHQ LW deprives them of a confron- tation that some of them ZDQW´ Terrorism or trespassing? Some people took their criticisms a step further, arguing that if a radical Muslim group had seized the property, many would FDOO LW WHUURULVP %XW -RKQ McKay, the former top federal prosecutor in western Washington and now a professor of national security law at Seattle University, did not see it WKDW ZD\ 7KH IHGHUDO GH¿- nition of terrorism requires an act “dangerous to human life” that appears intended to intimidate civilians or LQÀXHQFH JRYHUQPHQW SROLF\ ³,¶P QRW VXUH ZKDW WKH WHUURULVP LV , GRQ¶W VHH D YLROHQW DFW´ KH VDLG “They’re trespassing and WU\LQJWRFKDQJHSROLF\´ Wayne State University ODZ SURIHVVRU 3HWHU - Henning said their actions PRUHFORVHO\PHHWWKHGH¿- nition of sedition, which includes conspiring to RYHUWKURZWKH86JRYHUQ- ment, oppose it by force or VHL]H LWV SURSHUW\ 6HGLWLRQ charges are typically reserved for the most severe cases, he noted, including that of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the “blind Muslim cleric” who was linked WR WKH :RUOG 7UDGH &HQWHUERPELQJ7KHVHGL- tion charge was for a plot to DWWDFN WKH 8QLWHG 1DWLRQV DQGRWKHUODQGPDUNV ,Q WKH -XVWLFH Department brought sedition charges against members of the Hutaree militia in Michigan, alleging that they planned to kill a police RI¿FHUDQGWKHQDWWDFNWKRVH ZKR DWWHQGHG WKH IXQHUDO A judge dismissed those charges, saying the evidence did not prove a concrete plan to oppose the authority of the IHGHUDOJRYHUQPHQWE\IRUFH ,I WKH )%, FDQ UHVROYH the occupation peacefully, Henning said, he did not expect that the Justice Department would bring sedition charges, but rather charges of trespassing or possibly destruction of federal property, if that DSSOLHG BEST STAND-UP COMEDY ON IT'S WAY TO HERMISTON! 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