As the criminal justice system works to hold the leaders of the refuge
takeover accountable, here are key facts for reporters following the story:
I think this is so important that I don't want anyone to miss it so
reprinting it here...
1) The land seizure movement is not over
While Ammon Bundy and the militants who took the refuge are behind bars,
the political leaders of the broader land seizure movement continue to
espouse the extremist agenda that led Bundy and his armed compatriots to
Oregon in the first place:
The American Lands Council, the leading voice of the Bundy land
seizure agenda, is now headed up by Montana State Senator Jennifer
Fielder, who has ties to the Militia of Montana, which is run by white
supremacists.
Utah State Representative Ken Ivory, the outgoing ALC president, is
now working for a nonprofit called Federalism in Action, formerly known
as State Budget Solutions, a group supported by the Koch brothers. One
of its key programs is taking over American lands.
Utah State Representative Mike Noel, the primary sponsor of
American Lands Council bills in the Utah legislature, was described by
the Salt Lake Tribune as a “close friend” of Shawna Cox, one of the
co-conspirators charged in the refuge takeover.
Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, who swore the oath of the Oath
Keepers militia, provided support to the Bundy militants in Oregon by
sending food to the wildlife refuge, then spread false accusations about
the circumstances leading to the death of LaVoy Finicum. Last year, a
bill sponsored by Fiore to turn Nevada’s public lands over to the state
was publicly supported by the Bundy family.
In 2015, a total of 37 land seizure bills were introduced in 11 state
legislatures. Just one month into 2016, there are already bills in state
legislatures from Arizona to Alaska and in Congress that attempt to turn
the Bundy land seizure agenda into law.
2) The Bundys’ perceived grievances are not shared by most Westerners
Despite the Bundy family’s attempt to recruit more ranchers to stop
paying grazing fees to taxpayers, the reality is that almost all of the
16,000 ranchers on national lands are responsible business owners who
pay their grazing fees.
What’s more, public opinion research shows that voters across the West
are strongly opposed to efforts to turn American lands over to the
states or private owners and approve of the job agencies like the Bureau
of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service do in managing those lands.
The Bundy occupation has only served as a wakeup call to Americans who
value their public lands. As the Seattle Times editorialized, the
standoff has “outraged and mobilized the vast majority of Westerners who
cherish and celebrate America’s public lands.”
3) Disputes over land management will continue to be solved in
collaborative ways
One of the biggest ironies of the Bundy land seizure is that Harney
County is home to one of the best examples of collaborative land
management, the High Desert Partnership. Refuge managers began working
with the group in 2008, leading to a landmark 15-year plan that brought
together ranchers, conservation groups, and the Burns Paiute tribe,
giving local stakeholders control over the day-to-day decision-making in
and around the refuge.
This success story is a model for rural communities across the nation,
demonstrating how listening, collaboration, and partnership can succeed
where vitriol and threats fail.
4) The Bundys don’t have a legal leg to stand on
The Bundys plan to use Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the
Constitution as part of their legal strategy, which they misread as
putting “limits on federal property ownership.”
Fortunately, this issue has already been thoroughly litigated; in Kleppe
v. New Mexico, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the property
clause of the Constitution grants Congress and the U.S. government
“complete power” over national public lands.
If Ammon Bundy wanted a constructive conversation about the Constitution
and the benefits of American public lands, stealing a bird sanctuary and
leading a dangerous armed confrontation was certainly not the way to do it.
Written by Aaron Weiss on Friday, January 29th, 2016
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