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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2016)
A18 News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 3, 2016 SIDES LAND Continued from Page A1 Continued from Page A1 the group of supporters they already have, I’m very, very fearful for what’s ahead for our county.” Schuette said, in a few short weeks, the occupiers caused an enormous amount of strife in Grant County. She said she could not imagine what the people of Harney County have gone through. Another picketer, Adele Cerny, Bear Valley, said some of the supporters of the refuge occupation appeared to sup- port violence if necessary to make their voices heard. “I say that attitude has no place in a law-abiding democ- racy,” she said. “It actually tears apart a democracy.” John Day resident Dave Traylor, who wrote a letter to the editor urging the occupi- ers to “stay the course,” said people have many different views about the situation. He said the occupiers were un- fairly portrayed by the media, though he added they should have stayed in campers on the refuge land and not entered the buildings. He also said, if the occupiers would have stayed at the refuge, they might have been able to accomplish some of their goals, such as freeing the Hammonds. “If they had just stayed there, I think they could have won some concessions, and that mainly being the Ham- monds getting a new trial or being released,” he said. “Ted Turner wouldn’t get prosecut- ed for something like that if KH¶GVHWDEDFN¿UHRQKLVSURS- erty (and it got out of hand). “What they’ve done is re- ally hurt those with legiti- mate beefs with the federal government about how the land should be managed,” he said. In the public’s mind, the protesters’ hostile tactics have been conflated with the goal of increasing local control over federal prop- erty, which weakens their case in the political arena, he said. “If they wanted an up- rising in Congress, they just made it that much harder,” Miller said. The protesters’ actions won’t bolster attempts to transfer federal land to the states, which already had legitimacy among conser- vative lawmakers in mul- tiple state legislatures be- fore the refuge takeover, said Martin Nie, a natural resource policy professor at the University of Mon- tana. “They’re less of a spec- tacle and should be taken more seriously,” Nie said. The philosophy of Bun- dy and his followers, mean- while, is entangled with far-right interpretations of the U.S. Constitution and the power of county sheriffs but does not offer any seri- ous proposals for changing federal land policy, he said. “I don’t think this spec- tacle has helped that cause at all,” he said. Among people who were uneasy about excessive federal authority, though, recent events will likely reinforce the notion that the government is out-of- control, said Mark Pollot, an attorney who is fighting federal agencies in court on behalf of deceased Nevada rancher Wayne Hage. Left-wing protests, such as “Occupy Wall Street,” invaded private property and were more disruptive than the refuge standoff but did not elicit a similarly File photo A public meeting continued at the senior center in John Day Jan. 26 after guest speakers Ammon and Ryan Bundy were arrested en route. They wouldn’t have put him in SULVRQIRU¿YH\HDUVRQWHUURU- ism. I think the Hammonds got a raw deal.” Traylor said the refuge oc- cupation was “born on frus- tration” with federal policies, and he’d like to see a return to using natural resources to better the watersheds, to boost employment and timber sales and to prevent catastrophic ZLOG¿UHV WKURXJK JRRG VWHZ- ardship. He said many people are unaware of the underlying issues. “Most people, it’s not be- cause they’re dumb; they’re just woefully uninformed,” he said. “The best way to deal with this frustration level: Get to know the issues, so you know the truth.” County resident Gordon Larson, a retired Oregon State Police lieutenant and ranch- er, spoke out at the meeting against the refuge occupation. He said local residents did not need outsiders to speak for them. These people, he said, don’t serve on local school boards or attend local churches A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : Did you know there may be VA benefits available for you as a result of your spouses’ military service? See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, located at Grant County Court House. Call 541-575-1631 for an appointment Open: Mon, Wed, & Fri 10am-4pm by appointment. or give back to the communi- ty, whereas many local people who work for the government do. “The ranchers here have a strong enough voice,” he said at the meeting. “Maybe some of us feel like we’ve been mis- treated by the Forest Service, but by God, we can stand up and take care of it as neigh- bors.” Larson said he worked as DQRI¿FHULQDJDQJXQLWLQKLV career, and the refuge occupi- ers reminded him of the gang mentality, where the criminals would claim a territory without the support of the residents to the detriment of the commu- nity. Jim Spell, John Day, said he too attended the meeting to stand against the occupiers. “My participation does not indicate that I support what the Forest Service does or doesn’t do, but we don’t need outsid- ers to resolve that situation,” he said. Spell said he was not afraid of the occupiers but wanted them to leave the people of Grant County alone. He said he was disappointed the situ- ation ended with bloodshed, and he hoped people could move forward peacefully. “I just hope the communi- W\FDQPRYHRQDQG¿QGVRPH process to resolve all these feelings,” he said. “And I pray that it’s over with.” Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer did not respond to multiple requests for com- ment. M ILLER C OORS BREWING strong-armed reaction from the federal government, he said. Pollot said that distrust of the government will particularly rise if there are indications that federal agents overreacted during the arrests and did not have to shoot the protesters’ spokesman, LaVoy Fini- cum. If nothing else, the con- frontation will show that Western land policy is more than a minor issue and de- serves Congressional atten- tion, Pollot said. “It will add some weight to the debate,” he said. On the other hand, there’s the risk of a shift away from the political and legal channels that crit- ics such as Wayne Hage have traditionally used in the “Sagebrush Rebellion” against federal land policy, he said. “I’m concerned there will be people who will now think that’s worth- less,” Pollot said. The restrictions placed on ranchers have gained visibility in Washington, D.C., Salem and Portland, but that doesn’t mean they will be changed, said Bruce Weber, director of Oregon State University’s Rural Studies Program. It’s unclear how the existence of a perceived “martyr for the cause” will change the situation, Weber said. “People who believe the Constitution prohibits fed- eral ownership and man- agement of those particular lands won’t change their minds,” he said. Concerns about growing federal restrictions on pub- lic lands long predate the refuge occupation and will likely continue even if the current conflict is resolved. Bob Skinner, a fifth-gen- eration cattle rancher in the Jordan Valley area, heads a group opposed to the proposed Owyhee Can- yonlands wilderness and conservation area, which would cover 2.5 million acres in Oregon’s Malheur County. The designation would severely regulate or prohib- it grazing and other activi- ties on an area that is bigger than Yellowstone National Park and covers 40 percent of Malheur County. Skinner said his worst fear is that the arrests of several protesters and the death of Finicum will “acti- vate” people who hold sim- ilar anti-government views. Even so, the incident has brought more visibility to Western concerns over pub- lic land. “I can’t help but think it’s brought some aware- ness to government over- reach, that might have some impact,” Skinner said. Rep. Kurt Schrad- er, D-Ore., compared the standoff in southeast Or- egon to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which arose in reaction to con- flicts between law enforce- ment and the black commu- nity. “Rural America faces the same lack of recogni- tion,” Schrader said. There’s a “palpable sense” that government policy has focused on the economic welfare of urban areas while overlooking ru- ral areas, he said. As to the effect of the occupation on the federal land debate, Schrader said the impact is uncertain. While people sympa- thize with the hardships faced in the rural West, the occupation has also shown they have no appetite for lawlessness, he said. Schrader said he and other members of Oregon’s Congressional delega- tion are pushing to reform overly restrictive rules on grazing and logging while protecting the environment on federal property. “The scales have tipped so far to the left that you can barely do anything there, it’s so cost-prohibi- tive,” he said. “We’ve got to change the federal pol- icy.” ECHANIS DISTRIBUTING COMPANY Your local Beer & Wine Wholesale for over 45 Years ...and other fine beers and wines ow n p k u l c o w t o S B r e p u for S nday! Su Call Bob Blake anytime: 541-575-1170
