White House aware of federal land takeover

One of the protesters occupying the national wildlife refuge the ultimate goal is to turn the land over to local authorities so people can use it free of federal oversight. “And when the time is right, we will begin to defend the people of Harney County in using the land and the resources”.

A sign at the entrance to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles southeast of Burns, Oregon.

On Monday morning, a group of about a half-dozen occupiers could be seen outside the facility, with some manning a watchtower and others standing around a vehicle they had used to block the road leading to the building.

That is how federal officials defused a high-profile 2014 stand-off with Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy over grazing rights.

For days now, a group of men, including the sons of standoff veteran Cliven Bundy, have been hunkered down in an empty building on the federally protected swath of snow-covered tundra.

The Bundy brothers and their followers unveiled a redress of grievances addressed to several local officials and alleged that the federal government targeted the Hammonds because they refused to sell their land “to a federal agency”. “Five generations of ranchers that had been on the Steens, kicked them off. And then management of the wildfires, it totally changed the region”, Landon said. Ammon Bundy said the group wants to “unwind” federal ownership of lands in Harney County.

The issue traces back to the 1970s and the “Sagebrush Rebellion”, a move by Western states like Nevada to increase local control over federal land.

Meanwhile, the Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven-the ranchers the group was rallying around-are turning themselves into officers at a California prison today. “We understand that in order to truly express our First Amendment rights, we have to have our Second Amendment rights”.

Ammon Bundy vowed to stay “as long as it takes” while showing support for Dwight and Steven Hammond, father and son ranchers jailed on a 2001 arson conviction. But an appeals court judge ruled the terms fell short of minimum sentences that require them to serve about four more years. But they say they’re willing to leave if local residents ask them to, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

Kendra M Matthews, a lawyer for the men, said they will seek clemency from President Barack Obama.

“We’re planning on staying here for years, absolutely”, Ammon Bundy told reporters over the weekend.

Still, local, state and federal law enforcement have taken a low-key approach to resolving the conflict, acknowledging it, saying they’re monitoring the situation but not taking any overt actions to arrest or evict the militia.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said the group of armed protesters came to town under false pretenses. “This is not a decision we’ve made at the last minute”.

“That’s not exactly what I thought should happen, but I didn’t know what to do”, he said.