Eight major hunting, fishing, and conservation groups are condemning the extremist takeover of Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
For the last several days, as reported by numerous news outlets, a headquarters facility at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon has been occupied by an armed group of extremists from outside the state. This ongoing occupation represents a seizure of public land that American hunters and anglers find unacceptable.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and seven major sportsmen’s groups—the Wildlife Management Institute, Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Public Lands Foundation, Berkley Conservation Institute, Snook and Gamefish Foundation, and Dallas Safari Club—are united in condemning these unlawful actions and have issued the following statement:
“Many citizens of the West—sportsmen and women included—take issue with some public land management decisions, but there is a legitimate process, well-established by law, to provide significant opportunity for public input and influence on these decisions. When an extreme minority uses lawlessness and threats of violence to occupy public land, it threatens the rights of many for the benefit of very few—a profoundly un-American course of action.
We want to thank refuge employees, public land management employees, and law enforcement personnel for their dedicated service during this incident, and we’d urge authorities to uphold law and order by bringing a peaceful resolution to the occupation and then by bringing these armed extremists to justice.”
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1908 as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. The refuge provides essential habitat for more than half of the Pacific flyway’s migratory waterfowl, as well as sandhill cranes, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and native redband trout. It is typically open to hunting and angling—but not today.
More than 23,000 hunters and anglers have signed a petition opposing the seizure of America’s public lands.
Help protect public lands and Roosevelt’s legacy—learn more at sportsmensaccess.org.
You all need to read the real facts as to what is at stake with your so called”PUBLIC LAND”. Blm has been flooding and burning ranchers out of their private property so they can buy it up on the cheap. Well the Hammonds for forty years have been raising cattle to feed thousands of people and wont sell their land to BLM. So BLM has tried every shit trick in the book to coheres and manipulate the legal system to steal the land. I commend your organization for keeping public lands public but in this one issue you are all on the wrong side of the fence. READ THE REAL FACTS!!!
Mr. Tucker is mistaken here. First, the land is not owned or operated by the BLM. It is a National Wildlife Refuge, owned and operated by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in coordination with the State of Oregon wildlife agencies. It was created by my favorite Republican, Theodore Roosevelt, and is operated by hunting license, fishing license, duck stamp, and similar fees, gladly paid by sportsmen, the same folks who lobbied hard for and got a major increase in the federal duck stamp price. Before Mr. Tucker asks people to “read the real facts,” he should ascertain the facts he is referring to as being real. Having read the real facts many time in many venues, I assure the readers Mr. Tucker is ranting without any basis in facts inthis case.
David Tucker, while your professionalism, grammar, and spelling could use some refining, I don’t believe you to be so far from the mark. But, these Bundy guys from Nevada need to go home. They have garnered their cause attention, and from this point are providing it with more harm than good.
David the only truth in your statement is probably your name. The BLM doesn’t flood or burn anyone out. They are land management they do not acquire land. There is no reason for the BLM to try to acquire more land, and even if the head of the department of agriculture (which oversees the BLM) wanted to do a land grab, there are no means in the BLM to do so. So get your facts straight. before you lie to hundreds or thousand of people.
I have read the real facts, and you are dead wrong. The Hammonds had been violating both BLM and USFWS laws and permit conditions for years — blatantly. They just went too far with the arson (set to cover up deer poaching), got caught, got prosecuted, refused to settle for lesser charges, went to trial, convicted by a jury, and got the minimum sentence allowable under the law they broke. They even signed a pre-sentencing agreement, agreeing to the 5-year term. It is indeed a complicated history, but that is the distillation. The deeper you read into this case, the more you begin to understand the delusions of rights versus privilege.
Funny it wasn’t the BLM that started the fires, it was the ranchers. Also, the group claims to want the land turned back over to the people, which is exactly where it already is. In reality they want it turned over to the private individual.
Mr. Tucker, please supply the “place” where we may READ THESE REAL FACTS!
Where would we find this information.
The real fact is the nutbags are on a Fish and Wildlife Refuge, not BLM lands
This about private lands being seized by the BLM in the name of wildlife refuge, Stick to the facts that the BLM has coerced the sale of private land so they could add it to the refuge. They have wrongfully accused the land owner of Terrorism and then when they did not like the out come went back into the courts with a new judge to get the results they wanted. This stand off is to bring this abuse to light and the american public needs to know what a government bureaucrat will do to advance their control over the land and increase their stature for promotion.
Good for you TRCP and others!
Not only was Malheur National Wildlife Refuge established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, setting aside unclaimed government lands “as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds,” but Duck Stamp dollars have gone to acquire large parts of the NWR. About 48,000 of the current 187,000+ acres of the refuge have been acquired through MBCF/Stamp dollars, through willing sellers. That’s a quarter (25.6%) of the refuge.
These land-grabbing insurrectionists need to be brought to justice.
David, It is not “so called” public land; it is OUR public land. I’d like to see you provide some real concrete evidence that the BLM has been “flooding and burning ranchers out of their private property so they can buy it on the cheap.” You can’t. It’s anecdotal evidence, at best, and more conspiracy theory than substantive proof. Bundy and his compatriots need to get the hell out of Oregon and go back where they came from. We don’t need their help.
Perhaps, David, you could direct us to the sites that would give us the “real” facts regarding this matter. As of now, every account I have personally read has been remarkably similar in terms of what supposedly happened to get us to where we are now.
Regardless, the armed occupation of a federal property on public land,…mostly by individuals that have no direct association with this specific case, and many of whom have “shady” histories to put it mildly,…is foolish and counterproductive, at best.
As one who has dealt with public lands access problems for decades, it has been my experience that the BLM bends over backwards to appease and accommodate landowners and public-land lessees, often at the expense of the public interest in those same public lands.
Perhaps the situation in Oregon is different, but based on my personal experience, I think I will continue to believe that I and others here, are squarely on the right side of the fence on this issue.
First – it doesn’t matter if they are out of staters, taking over public land by anyone is still wrong.
Fourteen Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism – Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights – Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause – The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military – Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism – The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media – Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security – Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined – Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected – The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed – Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts – Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment – Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption – Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections – Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
…….http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/07/the-rationality-of-the-malheur-gunmen-fighting-for-the-white-future-of-this-country/………..
They are criminal who willingly broke into a federal building while armed. To allow this to go unpunished opens the door to the end of democracy. Where do you draw the line ? A federal court house,congress or a elementary school?
Bundy’s had a record of being on a bully pulpit and thinking he is a separate country. Talk to people who personally know him and many agree it is time to end his actions.
He is acting no different than the Black Panther movement in the 60’s and 70’s.
That “legitimate process” was corrupted and ended by the Communist in chief’s henchmen by confiscating more and more lands from the states. More Fed bilge.
“raising cattle to feed people” What BS ! He raises cattle to make money. Nothing wrong with that, but spare us the obfuscation. Regarding restrictions on BLM land use, if , e.g., grazing isn’t controlled/managed by some objective, best practice based agency how many ranchers would follow proper grazing management practices ?, The whole western ” we are not subject to Federal laws/rules ” mentality is ego centric and certainly not interested in the greater good.
I really dislike how some Groups like the TRCP are politicizing the Bundy Standoff. Yes, I support the TRCP in it’s conservation efforts, but for heaven’s sake,……..leave the Political Agendas and Politics out of it.
Support the Animals and Birds and quit supporting the Political Agendas!!!!!
Its not the TCRP that politicized the issue. It is the Bundys and the extremist cabal that they work for.
Thanks for reading, everyone and engaging in the conversation around this important issue–it should be treated seriously. It’s also important that comments here are respectful. Malicious language will be taken down.
I’m here now to apologize for my earlier ignorance. I spoke with my girlfriends brother in Burns who grew up with the Hammonds in their community. He has seen and heard first hand all the events that have transpired over the years. Yes the poaching is true and I assume that means a fire was started to cover it up . The truth of the backburn incident is that there were firefighters on the hillside above the Hammonds and Steve Hammond was told twice not to start a back burn by one of the firefighters as it may endanger them. Steve did so anyways and that is why authorities were called in for help. I do not have evidence of this nor is it relevant to my decision to continue to plead for the Hammonds release from prison. They paid half of a $400,000 fine to BLM and had fulfilled their original sentence of prison. I believe it is unjust to punish them further.
The truth here isslowly percolating to the forfront. The bac-kburn was not only set to protect the residence and out buildings, but “apparently” to also cover up a “poaching” that would have possibly been discovered. The other half of the story, is once a Justice (different than sentencing Judge) reviewed the case after the Hammond’s were home, sent them back to jail under the Bush-Era Anti-Terrorism laws created after 9-1-1.
In order to vet myself, I am a sitting member on the Steens Mountain Advisory Council (SMAC), Burns BLM. Iam a life-long hunter, angler, have done work for BHA, support TRCP and was born and raised in eastern Oregon.
I was a two-year BLM firefighter with a nephew that was an engine-boss the year of this fire.
There are many more details that don’t need to be discussed here.
Keep Public Lands in Public Hands!!!
Sorry for the typo’s, I hit SUBMIT before I edited…