FEDERAL LANDS - The Debate (Update)

IMHO:  A collation between anti-government 'terrorists' and environmental 'terrorists?'  Not good for America.

"Cranes, curlews, and cows — the delicate debate over Oregon's federal lands" PBS NewsHour 5/24/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge grabbed headlines earlier this year when it was seized by armed militants protesting federal control of local lands.  But for the past decade, some local ranchers have been striving to find common ground with environmental groups and refuge officials, and important strides have been made for birds and cows.  Special correspondent Cat Wise reports.

CAT WISE (NewsHour):  The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has reopened to the public, but the headquarters complex remains closed, for now.

CHAD KARGES, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:  Once the repairs are done, and we're back in the buildings and operational again in full, then we will open up the headquarters.

CAT WISE:  Refuge manager Chad Karges says that while cleanup efforts from the occupation are ongoing, everyone's attention is now refocused on the most important visitors here, birds.

CHAD KARGES:  Malheur Refuge is about migratory birds, and so this basin is one of the most important spring migratory stopover points for migratory birds in the Western U.S.  The basin serves as kind of like an international airport.  It's a hub.

CAT WISE:  More than 320 species are found here, including Sandhill Cranes, Ross's Geese, Long-Billed Curlews, and Red-Winged Blackbirds.  But the birds don't just hang out on the refuge.  They land wherever they want.

And at this time of year, that's often on local private ranchland wet with spring runoff.  It's wonderful habitat for birds and for cows.  Cows outnumber people by 14 to one in Harney County.  There's a long, proud tradition of ranching here, and cattle and haying are the main drivers of the local economy.

Cows and birds seem to get along quite well on private ranches, and many in the community appreciate the tourism dollars that birders bring in.  But it's when those cattle have to graze on public, government-owned land, which makes up 75 percent of the county, that conflicts between ranchers, and environmental groups, and the federal government become evident.

So, about 10 years ago, refuge manager Karges and a small group in this community decided to try a fairly novel approach to resolving those conflicts, face-to-face conversations.  And those conversations have led to this, the High Desert Partnership, a nonprofit that was formed with one goal, collaboration.

MAN:  Can you add to the committee, or does it need to be a standing committee?

MAN:  I would just recommend that it is a standing group.

CAT WISE:  Participants at this recent meeting, held at the historic Hotel Diamond, included ranchers, federal and local government employees, scientists, and conservation advocates, a diverse group you might not expect would share so many laughs.

OREGON - The Bundy Militia (Update)

"What’s next for the armed militiamen in Oregon?" by Amanda Peacher (OPB), PBS NewsHour 1/4/2016

Ammon Bundy emerged from a small brick building at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge shortly after 11 a.m. local time Sunday.

He wouldn’t say how many protesters were present at the site of the occupied federal complex, but fewer than 20 people were visible Sunday afternoon.

The leader of the occupation spoke in cool, calm tones as he explained why he and other self-described militiamen broke into and took over the complex Saturday.

“This refuge, from its very inception has been a tool of tyranny,” said Bundy.  He believes the federal government overstepped its constitutional bounds in its original purchase of the land back in 1908.

The occupiers said their mission is to put the federal lands under local control, although it’s unclear by what means.  Bundy said the protesters have a plan that will take “several months at the shortest to accomplish.”

The refuge is a popular destination for spring birdwatchers, and the headquarters include a visitor’s center, museum and housing.

Protester LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher, said they’re being careful not to damage buildings or property.  He claimed the protesters accessed the buildings after they found a set of keys.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service disputed that claim.

The militiamen came to Burns, Oregon, to support Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father and son pair who were convicted of setting fire to federal ranchlands.

Susan Hammond said Sunday that her husband, Dwight, was already en route to Los Angeles to begin serving his sentence.  The Hammonds are due to report to prison Monday morning.

When asked about the refuge occupation, Susan Hammond gave a dry laugh and said she was very surprised by it.

“I don’t even know what ‘occupying the refuge’ means.  I can’t judge what’s going on out there because I don’t know what it is,” she said.  “I hope they’ve got some warm clothes.”

Temperatures have been frigid in this region of Oregon, with numbers dipping into single digits overnight.

“I don’t really know the purpose of the guys who are out there,” said Susan Hammond.  “I kind of understand where they come from, as far as their priorities in life.”

When asked how long they plan to occupy the complex, Bundy would only say, “for as long as it takes.”

Finicum said he plans to stay “until the constitution is upheld.”  They brought food, fuel and supplies, and local supporters visited the site Sunday adding to the stockpile.

Bundy said he hasn’t heard from any law enforcement “since we made the stand.”  No officers were visible near the refuge, nor were marked police vehicles patrolling the remote, ice-covered highways near the site.

But Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said federal and local officers are paying close attention.

“They’re following it literally by the minute and that’s why it’s so important that we have this close coordination between the FBI, which of course takes the lead at the federal level, because of the wildlife refuge, and the state police, and the Harney County Sheriff’s Office,” Wyden said.

Oregon state police told OPB that a joint command center of federal, state and local law enforcement offices will be established Monday.  The Harney County Sheriff’s office released a statement Sunday saying that law enforcement was working to make sure citizens are safe and “this issue is resolved as quickly and peaceful as possible.”

“These men came to Harney County claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers, when in reality these men had alternative motives to attempt to overthrow the county and federal government in hopes to spark a movement across the United States,” wrote Sheriff David Ward.

The militia is prepared to use force, said Bundy, but they don’t intend to.  “We will not be aggressive.  We are here to defend the people.”

But would they respond with force, should the federal government act first?

“That would have to be determined at that time,” said Bundy.  “If they did, that would be putting lives at risk.  We’re not putting anybody at risk right now.”

The protesters come from as far away as Texas, Utah, Nevada, Idaho and Montana.  They describe themselves as patriots, militiamen or constitutionalists.

“I came prepared for anything,” said one Utah man who called himself “Captain Moroni.”  Many of the protesters provided reporters with names such as “Fluffy Unicorn,” or “Jimmy Joe.”

Captain Moroni said he participated in the 2014 Bundy Ranch standoff, and he was disappointed that more protesters did not arrive.

“I feel quite betrayed.  It’s been on Facebook that everyone is going to come.  And we show up, and everyone just craps out,” he said.  “You come up here, ready to get killed if we have to and these people are just on Facebook about it.

“I’m not here to shoot anyone, I’m here to get shot,” he said, while guarding the entrance to the refuge headquarters Sunday afternoon, patting his hands together for warmth near a sagebrush fire.

READ MORE: The Bundy Militia’s Particular Brand Of Mormonism




"What do the Oregon armed protesters want?" PBS NewsHour 1/4/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Armed protesters have occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in protest of federal control of western ranch lands and the treatment of two Oregon ranchers.  William Brangham gets an update from Amanda Peacher of Oregon Public Broadcasting.

PROTECTED - U.S. Law Protects Lions

"How a new U.S. law protects lions in Africa" PBS NewsHour 12/21/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  African lions are getting new protections from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Five months after an American hunter killed an animal named Cecil in Zimbabwe, a new classification will help prohibit imports of lion trophies from Central and West Africa.  Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss the change.

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed Central and West African lions as endangered, generally prohibiting importation of lion trophies from that region into the U.S.  Lions in Southern and Eastern Africa are now classified as threatened, which will allow U.S. trophy imports only under certain conditions.

The move comes five months after an American hunter killed a lion named Cecil outside a national park in Zimbabwe, and almost five years after U.S. conservation groups petitioned for greater protections for lions.

For more, I am joined by Daniel Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

And welcome to you.

DANIEL ASHE, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:  Thank you, Jeff.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Why now?  Is it right to see the killing of Cecil as a kind of game changer that galvanized public attention and now government action?

DANIEL ASHE:  Well, we have been considering the listing of the lion for more than five years.  We were petitioned under the Endangered Species Act, so that’s been our responsibility.

And we proposed listing the lion back in October of 2014, before the controversy over Cecil the lion, but Cecil and that controversy certainly have galvanized public emotions about lions and I think brings us to where we are today.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Advocacy groups have wondered what took so long.

DANIEL ASHE:  Well, we are a scientific organization.  And we’re dealing with what many scientists call the sixth mass extinction.

So we have many, many priorities, a lot of work under the Endangered Species Act.  This is one of those things.  And we have had lots of comment and lots of science to pore through.