But the march supporting the Hammonds led to the armed occupation of the refuge, with occupiers decrying what they call government overreach when it comes to federal lands. Officials in Harney County warned residents this week that a coyote hunt would start Friday evening near Burns, at the same time the armed refuge occupiers have scheduled their meeting.
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BURNS, Ore. (AP) – An Oregon rancher whose cattle graze next to the national wildlife refuge that an armed group is occupying says he didn’t give them permission to enter his property and remove part of a fence.
The group protesting federal land policy tore down a stretch of government-erected fence Monday near the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
“We’re not going to be deterred”, he says. We’re not gonna let all your junk and hate mail sidetrack us.
Officials with the Harney County Joint Information Center declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.
Photo/Rick Bowmer A “Dont Tread On Me” flag flies at the entrance of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore.
But committee member Chris Briels, a retired Burns fire chief who held a part-time position acting as the county fire marshal, said he had resigned that post over the county’s refusal to host the meeting. He and his father were in a standoff with federal agents in 2014 on their Nevada ranch over the issue of grazing rights on public land.
“The rhetoric doesn’t help the situation and I think it’s really important to have elected officials speaking out about this”, Rokala said.
Earlier this week, several members of the group occupying the wildlife refuge traveled to neighboring Grant County to ask the sheriff there to travel to Harney County to voice his support.
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The costs to the county will grow if the militia continues to stake out the wildlife refuge, despite please from local residents for them to leave. Ammon Bundy has said his group will discuss plans to leave the area at that meeting. Many in the local citizenry are openly skeptical of the militants’ gesture toward opening up federal lands, and the local-not federal-authorities want to bill Mr. Bundy $70,000 a day to cover the county’s security costs during the occupation.
