About that illegal occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Tweet

I will respond to a request from Robin Lamb, @troyburns to write something about the illegal occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oregon by a bunch of right wing armed militants. I would recommend looking at the Southern Poverty Law Center website to begin with. That organization tracks "hate groups," militia movements, the Ku Klux Klan (yes, they are still around), neo-Nazis and other assorted right wing crazies in the US. They lay out some very good info on what is happening at Malheur and the different groups involved. I live in Oregon, hundreds of miles away from Malheur, a necessary stopping-off place for hundreds of species of migrating birds. Thousands of birds were once slaughtered there for nothing more than their feathers, used to decorate ladies' hats. President Teddy Roosevelt made Malhuer a wild life sanctuary in 1908. The groups involved, more than one, are creating a situation that must be addressed by government. Just last night the majority at a community meeting in the nearby town of Burns, Oregon asked the out of state gunmen to leave the area. Today, their vandalism of the property and illegal occupation continues. Their actions will almost certainly end badly for them and the refuge. I suggest checking the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) for updates. This is too big a subject to cover in a MyLot discussion, but I wanted to express the opinion of one Oregonian, shared by most of the states' citizens.