 |
Marissa Knodel - she
writes about the urgency
to protect public land. |
Established in
1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
in eastern Oregon encompasses nearly 188,000 acres of resting, breeding and
nesting habitat for hundreds of migratory birds and other species. Its purpose
is to protect these bird species and provide a pristine area for birding,
fishing, hunting and hiking. Lately, however, it’s been making headlines for
far different reasons.
Starting January 2, a self-proclaimed militia broke into the
abandoned headquarters at the Malheur Refuge, following a demonstration in
support of Dwight and Steven Hammond, arrested for arson after setting fires
that spread to public land in 2001 and 2006. Boiled down to the essentials, the
leaders of the occupation — Ammon and Ryan Bundy — describe this dispute as
a battle between the federal government and the American people over land and
resources, land that the American government took from the Paiute people, and
which they still consider sacred. Yet their father, rancher Cliven Bundy, has
robbed taxpayers of more than one million dollars for the right to graze cattle
on public lands. The Bundys claim their armed occupation is about taking a hard
stance against the federal government for the people, and that they are
prepared to remain for years until the federal government relinquishes control
of the wildlife refuge.
