Spooked American Coots

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Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) with prey, along Ruh-Red Road near Burns, Oregon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Dan Dzurisin, 18 September 2012

Spooked American Coots (Fulica americana). Often mistaken for a duck, the American Coot is a common waterbird: its black body and white chicken-like wings distinguish this swimming rail from real ducks. This group of coots was spooked by traffic along Highway 2015 between Burns, Oregon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Dan Dzurisin, 15 April 2007, posted 6 August 2007

Wetlands at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Mathew Foster, 21 October 2009

Buena Vista Overlook. A view of the Steens Mountains from the Buena Vista Overlook, located in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Jeff Sorn / Oregon Department of Transportation, 30 July 2010

E of Burns Junction: Wyoming big sagebrush steppe (mowed or chained). The sagebrush steppe in this region of southeast Oregon is sporadically prone to colonization to high levels of cover by Bromus tectorum. This recently mowed sagebrush steppe was associated with high cover of crested wheatgrass: photo by Matt Lavin, 29 August 2013

E of Burns Junction: Wyoming big sagebrush steppe (mowed or chained). The sagebrush steppe in this region of southeast Oregon is sporadically prone to colonization to high levels of cover by Bromus tectorum. This recently mowed sagebrush steppe was associated with high cover of crested wheatgrass: photo by Matt Lavin, 29 August 2013

Twilight over the High Desert, Malheur NWR: image via Conrad Wilson Verified account @conradjwilson, 18 January 2016

White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. The White-faced Ibis, a dark wading bird with a long, down-curved bill, breeds across the western United States northward to Montana, eastward to western Louisiana, and southward to South America. Ibis and other shore birds are numerous during spring migrations at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon.: photo by Dan Dzurisin, 15 April 2007

Save the Public Lands from Invasive Species (Peckerwoodus americana subsp. pinheadii)

Center for Biological Diversity says if mining is allowed, land would be fenced off and would not be public #koin6news: image via Jennifer Dowling @JenDowlingKoin6, 19 January 2016

Bundy says his group wants a sawmill built to process lumber harvested from the refuge land #koin6news #Malheur: image via Jennifer Dowling @JenDowlingKoin6, 19 January 2016

Bundy said his militant group is ready to defend ranchers, miners & loggers who want to use the refuge #koin6news #Malheur: image via Jennifer Dowling @JenDowlingKoin6, 19 January 2016

Bad weather has not stopped 00s showing up for the Audubon soc's #Oregonstandoff counter-protest in PDX: image via Jason Wilson @jason_a_w, 19 January 2016

Well then. #Oregonstandoff counter-protest in PDX: image via Jason Wilson @jason_a_w, 19 January 2016

"We can't be shouted down by people with guns, we have to stand up for public lands"  #RefugeRally #Oregonstandoff: image via Lauren Dake @Lauren Dake, 19 January 2016

  #RefugeRally chant went from "birds not bullies" to "throw the bums in jail" #Oregonstandoff: image via Lauren Dake @Lauren Dake, 19 January 2016

I would rather ask for supplies than go out and loot for them like some other protesters have done in this country recently. #Oregonstandoff: tweet by Ammon Bundy @Ammon_Bundy, 19 January 2016

Environmentalists protesting the militia in #Oregonstandoff continue to grow in numbers @KOINNews: image via Andrew Dymburt @DymburtNews, 19 January 2016  BURNS, OR

Hundreds gather in Portland to protest #OregonStandoff occupation, support public lands: image via The Oregonian Verified account  @Oregonian, 19 January 2016  

Tribal leader worried about safety of artifacts amid #OregonStandoff via @IndianCountry: image via Wilderness Society Verified account @Wilderness, 19 January 2016  

Bundy says they're not going to negotiate with FBI; gives federal agencies "warning" #Oregonstandoff: image via Wanda Moore @WandaKTVZ, 19 January 2016 

Hundreds gather in Portland to protest #Oregonstandoff- #LiveOnK2 @ 4  with @ReedKATU: image via KATU News Verified account @KATU News, 19 January 2016

Sportsmen group slams #Oregonstandoff as "the misguided actions of a fringe element": image via Wilderness Society Verified account @Wilderness, 19 January 2016

The Oregon Militia Is Turning Out To Be Its Very Own Worst Enemy... image via ePeak USA @periclesusa, 19 January 2016 

Posse Politics

Possible Federal Crimes Numerous at Oregon Refuge Take-over #Oregonstandoff: image via SPLC Verified account @slpcenter, 18 January 2016

 Antigovernment Extremists in Oregon Now Plan Their Own Justice System: Bill Morlin, Southern Poverty Law Center, 13 January 2016

 

Militia and antigovernment extremists illegally occupying a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon are now pledging to form a “citizen’s grand jury” to indict and bring criminal charges against public officials and judges the occupiers accuse of committing crimes and violating the Constitution.

With such “indictments,” the extremists’ doctrine would justify their attempts to make arrests, get judgments or file liens against the targeted public officials.

Bruce Doucette, a self-proclaimed “U.S. Superior Court judge” from Denver, arrived at the occupied Malheur Wildlife Refuge near Burns on Tuesday to “review evidence that public officials may have committed crimes,” the Oregonian reports.

Doucette, a 54-year-old computer repairman, told the newspaper that 25 local residents “would hear testimony and make decisions in private” before deciding whether to bring criminal charges. Those findings “would be put in writing and made public,” the newspaper reports.  He didn’t say what would come next.

Ammon Bundy, the son of Cliven Bundy and the leader of the Oregon take-over,  as well as his key followers have said they believe federal prosecutors, judges and officials in the Bureau of Land Management broke laws and violated the Constitution in bringing charges against Dwight and Steven Hammond. 

The Hammonds’ 20-year battle with federal agencies, culminating with their jury conviction for arson for illegally burning federal land, and their mandatory-minimum prison term of five years ignited the current takeover.  Wanting no part of the Bundy’s plan, which was weeks in the planning , the Hammonds reported to federal prison in California on Jan. 4, the third day of the occupation.

Now apparently bored with using federal computers and cutting down BLM fencing at the wildlife refuge, the occupiers -– with supplies and new recruits routinely being shipped in –– seem intent on setting up their own court system and convening their “citizen’s grand jury.”

There is no historical precedent allowing a self-styled judge or a citizen’s grand jury would have any import on the outcome of the Malheur occupiers demands to open public lands, other to than to excite those embracing a fringe view.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward has publicly voiced concerns about threats made against him and his deputies and their families, as well as employees of the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The sheriff has urged Bundy and his followers to leave and even offered to escort them out of the county. The antigovernment activists refused the offer. They say they will discuss their “exit strategy” Friday evening at a community meeting in Burns.

The concept of the “citizen’s grand jury” has roots in the Posse Comitatus movement –- a sometimes violent, anti-Semitic, anti-tax, antigovernment brand of extremism. Ironically, the Posse Comitatus movement is generally believed to have started in Oregon.

Henry L. “Mike” Beach, a Portland business man with previous ties to the anti-Semitic, fascist “Silver Shirt” movement, started the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Research Committee in 1969. The sheriff’s Posse Comitatus movement spun out from that. 

Beach, who died in 1989, embraced many of the philosophies of William Potter Gale, another Oregon man, whose anti-Semitic views were the springboard for Aryan Nations founder and neo-Nazi leader Richard Butler.

“Beach declared that a county’s citizens, as defined by its laws, could deny state and federal authority to tax, regulate, and govern,” the Oregon Historical Society says in documenting the history of Posse Comitatus in the state.

“Voters elected the sheriff as the principal enforcement official, with the authority to deputize male citizens,” the historical society says. County citizens “reserved the right to establish a grand jury outside the prevailing court system to indict, judge, and punish public officials and private citizen.”

Posse Comitatus cells formed throughout the United States from the 1970’s through the ‘90s.  Followers, who sometimes formed their own government entities called “townships,” appointed their owned public officials and believed only the county sheriff -– not federal or state law enforcement -– could enforce laws.

One such group –– the infamous “Montana Freemen” –– formed their “Justus Township” on a 960-acre ranch near remote Jordan, Montana, in 1996.  Some of the 16 extremists were wanted for threatening public officials, writing bad checks or tax evasion.

Unlike the Oregon standoff where there is little or no law enforcement presence, the FBI rotated its regional SWAT teams into Jordan, Mont., controlling the perimeter and not allowing anyone in or out. Without a shot fired, the Freeman siege ended after 81 days –- the longest FBI standoff in U.S. history. Those involved were all subsequently convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

The Posse Comitatus concept embraced by the Montana Freemen is the same anti-federalism being voiced by Bundy and his band.

Federal authorities, including the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Attorney General, have been silent on their plans for those involved in the Oregon takeover, but the parallel to the Montana Freeman standoff, including the “citizen’s grand jury” development, has to be catching their attention.

LaVoy "Blue Tarp" Finicum waiting for federal authorities at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge: screenshot via Daily Kos, 8 January 2016

Foster children removed from home of Oregon militant, says he's now  lost 'main source of income': Jen Hayden, Daily Kos, 18 January 2016

Arizona rancher LaVoy Finicum told Oregon Public Broadcasting that his four current foster children have been removed while he's in Oregon:​ 

Robert “LaVoy” Finicum and his wife Jeanette were foster care parents for troubled boys. Finicum estimates that over the past decade, more than 50 boys came through their ranch near Chino Valley, Arizona. The boys often landed there from mental hospitals, drug rehabs and group homes for emotionally distressed youth.

“My ranch has been a great tool for these boys,” Finicum said. “It has done a lot of good.”

Militant says foster children were pulled from his home: image via Amelia Templeton @ameliaOPB, 16 January 2016

Finicum runs a cattle ranch in Arizona where he says he barely breaks even on the cattle and the loss of 50 extra foster ranch hands children is going to make it financially difficult on the Finicums:

That represents an enormous loss of income for the Finicums. According to a 2010 tax filing, Catholic Charities paid the family $115,343 to foster children in 2009. That year, foster parents were compensated between $22.31 and $37.49 per child, per day, meaning if the Finicums were paid at the maximum rate, they cared for, on average, eight children per day in 2009.

“That was my main source of income,” Finicum said. “My ranch, well, the cows just cover the costs of the ranch. If this means rice and beans for the next few years, so be it. We’re going to stay the course.”

Another member of Y’All Qaeda, Blaine Cooper (also known as Stanley Hicks Cooper), posted a rambling video to Facebook on Friday. After saying he was excited about the prospect of Donald Trump coming to help the ranchers (a rumor they’d heard), he mentioned Child Protective Services had kidnapped his children, then said they were with his brother-in-law.

Landed sentry: Arizona rancher LaVoy Finicum keeps guard at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon: photo by AP, 6 January 2016

 

HOLY CRAP! When your OWN MOM thinks you're a turd! Blaine Cooper is PROMINENT #bundymilitia member #Orehonstandoff: image via Cornelia @PaladinCornelia, 18 January 2016

Homo Necans with Patriotic Pocket Protector

A copy of the United States Constitution in the pocket of a shirt worn by Ammon Bundy, the leader of an anti-government group occupying buildings at a wildlife refuge in Oregon: photo by Justin Sullivan / New York Times, 6 January 2016

A supporter of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a rally at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia: photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP, 18 January 2016

 

A supporter of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a rally at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia: photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP, 18 January 2016

Folks are following along: image via Conrad Wilson @conradjwilson, 18 January 2016

"You know how many endangered species we're dealing with on our ranch right now? Zero, because it doesn't matter any more" --  Ryan Bundy.: tweet via Conrad Wilson @conradjwilson, 18 January 2016
 
Among things @OPB learned at last night's meeting: Bundy says ranchers don't have to follow endangered species act.: tweet via Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas, 19 January 2016
 
Cliven Bundy's sons urge Oregon ranchers to rip up BLM contracts, graze cattle on federal lands w/o paying: tweet via Amelia Templeton @ameliaOPB, 16 January 2016

Fourth generation Harney County rancher Scott Franklin listens to the Bundy brothers Monday night in Crane, Oregon: photo by Conrad Wilson/OPB, 18 January 2016

Bundys Urge Oregon Ranchers To Tear Up Grazing Contracts: Conrad Wilson and Amelia Templeton in Crane, Oregon for Oregon Public Broadcasting, 19 January 2016

The militants occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge asked Harney County ranchers at a meeting Monday night to cancel their leases with the federal government.

The three-hour meeting took place just outside Crane, Oregon, at a hot springs resort.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the leaders of the occupation, said they wanted to make Harney County an example of a place free from the federal government.

“The opportunity is now, and the place is Harney County, and you are the people,” said Ammon Bundy. “They’ll never be an opportunity like this again.”

The start of the meeting was not unlike a pitch for a timeshare.

The lights dimmed and on came a short film with dramatic music.

But rather than white sandy beaches, the projected images depicted dramatic landscapes of the American West.

In the nearly three hours that followed, the Bundys and a few of their core supporters led a room of largely Harney County ranchers through a presentation. At times it took on the tone of a civics lesson — one that included readings from pocket Constitutions distributed beforehand. At other times, speakers seemed to invoke the fiery passions of a preacher delivering a sermon from the pulpit.

The Pitch

Then came the hard sell.

The militants occupying the Refuge asked Harney County ranchers to tear up their leases with the Bureau of Land Management and stop paying the federal government to graze cattle on public land.

“I’ve done it. Cliven Bundy’s done it,” said LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher and the militants’ defacto spokesman. “Now is the day. Now is the time. Are you going to wait for tomorrow? For next week? Next month? Next year? When? When will you stand up if not now?”

Roughly 75 percent of Harney County is federal land. And just more than 10 percent of people who work in the county are employed by the federal government.

Finicum invited the ranchers to cancel their leases with the BLM at a ceremony before the media at the refuge on Saturday. He said two ranchers, one from New Mexico and another from Harney County, are scheduled to void their contracts publicly.

“I promise, that if you stand, others will stand with you,” Finicum said. “If you stand, God will stand with you. But God cannot stand with you if you do not stand.”

The leaders of the armed occupation described how 25 years ago Cliven Bundy stopped communicating with the BLM.

Ryan Bundy's View: Breaking from the Federal Government Will Allow Armed Rednecks To Fuck Up Migratory Patterns of Majestic Animals with Impunity, Just the Way God Planned It

Ryan Bundy went on to emphasize his view that breaking away from the federal government means ranchers wouldn’t have to follow federal laws, like the Endangered Species Act.

Ammon Bundy and members of the Bundy braintrust (l. to r., Ryan Bundy sitting on stove, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne sitting on counter) at the meeting in Crane: photo by Conrad Wilson/ OPB, 18 January 2016

“You know how many endangered species we’re dealing with on our ranch right now?” Bundy asked. “Zero, because it doesn’t matter anymore.”

LaVoy and the Bundys also acknowledged their proposition is risky. They said any rancher who joined them would get protection from the armed militants led by Payne.

“We are here temporarily to defend you,” Ammon Bundy said. “Eventually, you’ve got to get unified enough to started defending yourselves.”

Ranchers Skeptical

As the militants announced the meeting was ending, local resident Scott Franklin, stood up and entered a tense exchange with the Bundys.

“I’m a fourth generation rancher,” he said. “I’m going to ask you a question. Are we a nation of laws?”

“No,” said Ryan Bundy.

“We’re not?” Franklin replied. “So, we just break laws all the time, and that’s OK?”

“We are a nation of laws, and this law is the one being broken,” Ryan Bundy said, tapping his pocket-sized copy of the Constitution. “And this law is the supreme law of the land.”

“In the end, who decides what the Constitution says? The Supreme Court,” Franklin said.

That comment was met with a chorus of “Nos” from some audience members.

“I’m saying, I’m not going to fight an uphill battle that’s not going to be won,” Franklin said. “You’re asking us to give up everything for this rebel cause.”

Some ranchers were more receptive to the Bundys’ message. They spoke of their frustration with the environmental regulations on BLM land, and their belief that the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge wants to grow by acquiring ranches.

Buck Taylor runs cattle on about 200,000 acres of land, including private land, BLM allotments and land in the refuge.

After listening to the presentation, Taylor said he was considering the Bundys’ proposition, but thought there should be more meetings to discuss it.

“I am drinking the Kool Aid,” he said. “I haven’t swallowed it yet. I am open to the idea.”

Dwane Schrock, who ranches on private land near Crane, Oregon, also walked away with a positive impression.

“It was good; very informational,” he said. “People need to be educated. If they’re not educated, they’re not going to know what’s going on.”

After the meeting, Franklin, the rancher who’d spoken against the proposition, said he was ready for the Bundys to go. He said he has relatives who work for the BLM, and he was struggling to keep his family calm.

“I know that the refuge is never going to be in private hands,” he said. “Are they going to Yosemite? Are they going to Yellowstone? Where else are they going to do this?”

And on the Eighth Day, God Appointed the Bundy Clan to Fuck Up Pretty Much Everything Alive in His Creation At Will, As the Constitution Sort Of Allows -- and Be Rewarded With Great Snacks
 

Ammon Bundy. The rancher said God told him to lead the protest in Burns, Oregon: photo via Facebook via The Independent, 6 January 2015

Ammon Bundy talking life, liberty, property before about 30 people in Crane. Feels like a civics class: image via Conrad Wilson @conradjwilson, 18 January 2016

Not only have I been to the mountain top, I plan on still staying up here now that I'm here. #MLKDay #Oregonstandoff: image via Ammon Bundy @AmmonBundy, 18 January 2016 

Room shot. Payne talking with Ryan and Ammon (hat) Bundy looking on #Oregonstandoff: image via Conrad Wilson @conradjwilson, 18 January 2016

Refuge

These photos from 1908 convinced Teddy Roosevelt to create the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon (first called the Malheur Lake Reservation). That’s the place currently occupied by anti-federalist militants. Finley and Bohlman’s hand-colored images were provided by Bob Sallinger of The Audobon Society of Portland: portfolio and text via Skunk Bear, 6 January 2016

Great Horned Owl at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

White-faced Ibis at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

 

Malheur National Wildlife refuge is an essential stop along many bird populations' migratory journey, including that of the American White Pelican: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

 

 

Northern Pintail chick at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

 

 

Mallard at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

 

Mallard at Malheur Lake bird nest: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)



The coalition behind the Malheur Wildlife National Refuge wants to restore Malheur Lake as a viable habitat for the various bird populations that frequent it.: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

White-faced Ibis at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Candace Larson via Audobon Society of Portland, 3 January 2016

A burrowing owl at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Candace Larson via Audobon Society of Portland, 6 January 2016

 

American White Pelican at Malheur Lake: photo by William Finley and Herman Bohlman/Audubon Society of Portland, 1908 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library)

 Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. An abundant and familiar bird of open country across the western two-thirds of the continent, the Western Meadowlark is known for its melodic song. It is frequently seen singing along roadsides in native grassland and agricultural areas, in this case near Burns, Oregon.: photo by Dan Dzurisin, 11 April 2008

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) with prey, along Ruh-Red Road near Burns, Oregon and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by Dan Dzurisin, 18 September 2012

Ranch land in Harney County, where 7,126 people are spread across an area larger than Massachusetts: photo by Ruth Fremson/The New York Times, 18 January 2016