Chris Bruce (I hope it was Chris Bruce, because I've lost the signature to
the original lines on which David Ritchie comments), asks
"What’s this I read about Oregon: an armed militia taking over a national
park, and calling for ‘the people’ to come join them ‘and bring their
guns?’"
——————————————
*This is from a site that seems to have disappeared.*
'Roosevelt set aside unclaimed government lands encompassed by Malheur, Mud
and Harney Lakes ‘as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds.’ The
newly established ‘Lake Malheur Reservation’ was the 19th of 51 wildlife
refuges created by Roosevelt during his tenure as president. At the time,
Malheur was the third refuge in Oregon and one of only six refuges west of
the Mississippi.
'The refuge now encompasses 187,757 acres of wildlife habitat. The 65,000
acre Blitzen Valley was purchased in 1935 and added to the refuge to secure
water rights for Malheur and Mud Lake. With the creation of the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933, the refuge was able to use this
additional manpower in 1935 to begin major improvements on the refuge. The
CCC constructed most of the infrastructure in the Blitzen Valley including
the Center Patrol Road which travels through the center of the refuge. The
14,000 acre Double-O unit was added to the refuge in 1942 and provides
important shorebird habitat, as well as waterfowl nesting areas. Malheur
Refuge is situated within the Harney Basin in southeastern Oregon. Located
in the Northern Great Basin, this portion of the State is lightly
populated, generally arid with cold winters, and characterized by wide open
spaces.
'The refuge said in a statement on its Facebook page
<https://www.facebook.com/malheurrefuge>, “The Refuge will be CLOSED until
further notice.” '
[I'm taking a chance on there being no National Park near Burns.]
——————————————
Not too long ago—I've lost my notes—two local fellows set fire to part of
the refuge (you could look it up). They were apprehended, served a bit of
jail time, and were released. But some committee, or agency, or
federal/state/county law enforcers discovered that their sentence—the two
fellows' original sentence—had not been as tough as the law allows, and
they were sentenced to further confinement to complete it. The re-sentenced
fellows were about to be taken off to the nearest federal or state
prison/jail, when they and their custodians were intercepted by some of the
(local?) militia, and the about-to-be prisoners redux... Well, what *did*
become of them? As far as I know, they're lodged in the modest headquarters
of the Refuge, and not under any federal or state confinement at all (as of
this afternoon, on the western side of the mountains).
The *Bend Bulletin* has run several pieces on this state of affairs. There
are no real soldiers, or federalized National Guard, yet present. However.
after Wolf Blitzer and/or Anderson Cooper, have flown in, there may well
be. Although it's cold back there.
——————————————
Robert Paul
Snowbound
