In this weeks Western View, Len Wilcox shares information about the Sagebrush Rebellion.
The Western View: Sagebrush Rebellion, Act 2
A campaign called GO HOME is underway, founded by two Oregon brothers who want the Maulher refuge occupiers to leave. The campaign raises funds for groups that are diametrically opposed to the Bundy group; every day that the Bundys stay in Oregon, the fund gets more money.
Other people are beginning to take action. More than 100 people gathered in Bend, Oregon, and others went to the Maulher wildlife refuge last weekend to demonstrate against Ammon Bundy and the militia. Additional protests are planned this week, to show support for federally managed public lands.
Candy Anderson of Walla Walla, Washington, was one of the attendees at the refuge. She told a reporter for Oregon Public Radio that she hikes, camps and fishes on public lands, and doesn’t want to lose her right to access.
Ms. Anderson is a horse trainer, who took up cross country hiking after she retired. Her fear is, the Bundy occupation is part of a larger movement to privatize public land. Ammon Bundy is a cattleman whose family uses public land, and he believes the land should be turned over to citizens such as him, and the government has no right to own the land.
Bundy and his group have been left alone on the refuge, and are creating concerns for others in the area. The refuge is the ancestral home of the Burns Paiute Indian tribe, and they are speaking out against the continued occupation. More than 4,000 tribal artifacts are housed and cared for on the property, and the tribe is concerned for the safety of the items.
A small group of environmentalists tried to confront the Bundy occupiers, telling them to pack up and go home, but were not allowed to present their case. They believe the Bundys are part of a larger movement to turn all public lands over to mining companies, developers, and other corporations.
A collision of interests is brewing, and who knows how it will end.
I’m Len Wilcox and that’s the Western View from AgNet West.