Greetings All,
Two years ago, Tim Blount was someone who I only knew by name. Since then we
have come to be good friends. Tim helped arrange to place a memorial bench for
my daughter Lilly on the grounds of Malheur NWR headquarters. Shawneen and I
were deeply touched by his care and concern as we went through that process. We
placed the bench over Labor Day Weekend 2015.
Who would have thought that a mere four months later our beloved Malheur would
be under armed occupation. Like all the other refuge personnel, Tim, who is now
the executive director for Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, was
forced to leave his home and leave Harney County during the occupation. During
that time he has been living on property that is part of Tualatin River NWR
just sw. of Portland. During his exile, we have gotten together with Tim a
couple of times to go birding and just hang out (he watched the Super Bowl with
us) and we've been in regular phone contact as well.
I think many of us in the forum can appreciate the utter sense of violation
that came with his office at the visitor's center being occupied by the Bundy
group. That sense of violation was compounded when he returned to headquarters
for the first time and learned that his binocular and camera equipment, which
he kept at headquarters, had been stolen by the occupiers. Tim just wants his
life to get back to normal, but knows that may be a long and slow process. He
is the type of person to offer help long before he asks for it. I suspect it
took a lot for him to decide to start a GoFundMe campaign as a means to raise
the money needed to replace the stolen items.
Tim was there for us during a difficult time for our family. When I saw his
request for help, there was no question that I would lend my hand back to him.
Immediately, I made a donation of $100. I encourage you to check out Tim's
GoFundMe campaign. I have used GoFundMe and contributed to several campaigns in
addition to Tim's. It's easy, safe and all but a very modest percentage of your
donation will go directly to Tim and his need. Whether you've met Tim or not,
please know that he is a friend to Oregon birders and all birders who come to
visit Malheur. He is on Oregon Birding Association board of directors and has
in the past served on the Malheur Field Station board. He is also active with
the High Desert Partnership and he recently recruited Kenn Kaufman to join the
Friends of Malheur NWR board for the next year. He is currently about half way
to his stated goal (the amount needed to replace his stolen gear). Please help
him reach his goal. No contribution is too small. Also, feel free to share this
with others who might be in a position to help. I don't know if the link to
Tim's campaign has been posted to OBOL, being a non-subscriber, I can't do it.
https://www.gofundme.com/pqtrzgrj
Thanks for taking the time to consider this,
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
