Vehicles reported stolen from Oregon refuge; man charged

The armed group that continues to occupy an OR wildlife refuge said Friday it’s the Federal Bureau of Investigation that should leave town.

Police identified the suspect as Kenneth Medenbach, 62, of Crescent, Oregon. Medenbach was held for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

As the continued unlawful occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge escalates to the “liberation” of federal equipment, the question becomes, when does legal protest end and blatant lawlessness begin? U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously reported the vehicles had been stolen. Thousands of archeological artifacts and maps detailing where more can be found are stored at a national wildlife refuge now being held by a group of armed protestors.

As the standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge hits the two-week mark, people in this high desert area are growing increasingly tired and wary.

“As far as I’m concerned, our history is just another hostage”, Rodrique said.

DeFazio said Cliven Bundy, the father of the leaders of the occupation, has continued to defy the federal government by not paying his grazing fees in Nevada. Afterward, a group led by Ammon Bundy traveled to occupy the refuge to protest the ranchers return to prison and demand that the 300-square-mile refuge be turned over to local control.

For the last decade there has been a similar collaborative approach to the management of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

The rightwing militia, which is made up of mostly out-of-state anti-government activists, first took over the refuge on 2 January in protest of the federal government’s land-use regulations and the recent imprisonment of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight Hammond, and his son Steven.

While well-known petroglyphs or other prehistoric sites are occasionally publicized for public viewing, federal land managers often go to great lengths to keep such locations secret when they can’t be safely protected from vandals and looters.

Local residents express a mix of feelings about the standoff.

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful for the quick actions from law enforcement”, said USFWS spokesperson Megan Nagel.