Hopefully this can lead to more felony arrests.
On Jan 16, 2016, at 1:49 PM, Margaret Stephens <mlstep@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Are they (the yahoo militia jerks) really at MFS building/homes?
Corvallis rally: I would like to know also. Send question to Oregon wild
about any known location in Corvallis.
From: alderspr@xxxxxxxx
To: boo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [boo] Malheur Field Station
Date: Sat, 16 Jan 2016 11:32:02 -0800
This is the article that mentions that the extremists have entered MFS:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/occupiers_want_us_to_surrender.html#incart_river_index
In the article, Ryan Payne is quoted as saying:
"We've made ourselves stewards of this place," he said. The occupiers are
restoring the buildings at the compound and at a nearby field station, he
said. He described the station as in "horrible repair."
Last night I emailed the Oregonian reporter (Les Zaitz) who wrote the story.
I told him the following:
****
Malheur Field Station (MFS) is NOT owned or managed by the refuge. It is a
NON-PROFIT whose mission is to provide environmental education about the
wildlife, plant communities, geology, landscapes and night skies of Oregon's
northern Great Basin region. The land is leased from the refuge but the
facilities belong to the non-profit. The Bundy Bunch has even less ‘right’
to be on this property than at the refuge!
The Field Station directors, who live onsite year-round, were forced to
evacuate and move to a safe location when the extremists took over the
headquarters. Now, on top of that, the directors’ home is being invaded by
armed thugs!
I worry that if the occupation continues, the Field Station could suffer
financially since their income is very dependent on workshops and lodging.
The closure of the Field Station would be a great loss to the birding and
education communities as well as hunters who find lodging there.
I hope, at the very least, you will update your article to inform readers
that MFS is a NON-PROFIT, not part of the refuge.
I would love to see some additional coverage of the Malheur Field Station and
the potential impact of the occupation on the future of this special place.
****
I also described what MFS means to Randy and I personally and sent him links
to the MFS website and Facebook page as well as a 2012 Oregonian article
about MFS.
Les responded this morning and said that he passed my note along to another
Oregonian reporter (Kelly House) who is at the refuge today. He said they
would try to assess what’s really happening at the field station.
So, hopefully there will be a follow-up report clarifying what - if anything
- is going on at MFS.
Regarding Duncan and Lyla, we attempted to contact very soon after the HQ
occupation started to make sure they were OK. Duncan called us back early
last week and left a message assuring us that they were safe. Duncan's photo
showed up yesterday at the Bend rally (see the last photo in this article
http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/bend-protest-wildlife-refuge-oregon/)
.
Feel free to share any of the above info on other lists.
Does anyone know anything about the Corvallis Rally for Malheur and Public
Lands on Tues, Jan19th being organized by Portland Audubon, Oregon Wild,
etc...? It is still listed as 'TBD' at the Portland Audubon website
(http://audubonportland.org/issues/take-action/action-alert-rally-for-malheur-and-public-lands
).
Pam Comeleo
