Should You Care that a Militia Has Taken the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon?

by Kim D.

Yes, you should care. Why? Because the federal government does a lousy job of managing anything, much less land which has been accumulated for years in the name of the "public good" but has turned into a money pit for the taxpayers. Land is one of the most valuable commodities on earth, and government greed has developed an appetite for grabbing what it can to secure rights to minerals, water, and timber to the detriment of private land holders who have found themselves bullied and forced to sell or suffer economic hardships for stubbornly holding on to private family property.

Unfortunately, many of us live our lives and rarely get worked up about things that do not personally affect us. So, when a family battles government agencies for over 50 years to simply retain personal property, we don't notice until something big happens to open our eyes to the tyranny and abuse of which our federal government is capable.

This issue of federal land grabs exploded in 2014 with Cliven Bundy and the standoff against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It intensified in 2015 when BLM tried to grab more land surrounding the Red River which borders Oklahoma and Texas. The latest controversy comes as the male members of the Hammond family in Oregon have been ordered to turn themselves in Monday, January 4, 2016 to begin a five year sentence for an alleged terrorism and arson charge.

To bring attention to this issue, an armed militia, which includes three of Cliven Bundy's sons, seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon yesterday. The is either a brave or foolish move, depending upon which side of the political fence you stand. Those in favor of large government and bureaucracies (like BLM) will be outraged and call this armed militia domestic terrorists. Those who realize the power play at work here and are for reducing big government land grabs will be rooting for the militia underdogs.

BREAKING: 150 armed militia members take over federal building https://t.co/54kzHFLHec pic.twitter.com/QvJ8oXvvR7

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) January 3, 2016

Clive Bundy, who it appears has been behind the scenes advising the Hammonds, details and chronicles the entire dispute here. It is quite an interesting read. Of significance is the fact that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the BLM have been trying to secure (purchase) the Hammond's land since the 1970's. When the offer to purchase was refused, the FWS and BLM tried a different approach in restricting cattle grazing rights. When that didn't work, they went after water rights in the 1990's.

No strong-armed bureaucratic tactic has been successful in obtaining the Hammond's land until one fateful night in 2006 when a lightening storm started a fire which threatened the Hammond's land and home.  In order to save the property, the father (Dwight) and son (Steven) started a backfire to put out the one Nature had started. The backfire worked but was deemed illegal by the FWS and BLM. Since this event, the Hammonds have been targeted by the federal government who have been the winner during an almost decade-long legal battle.

When the case was originally dropped in 2006, the federal government took up the case, and in 2011 the Hammonds were charged under the Federal Anti Terrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Both father and son served a reduced sentence (three months for the father and 12 months for the son) and have been working to pay a fine of $400k. If the fine is not paid, the Hammonds must sell the land to the BLM, which has been the goal since the 1970s. 

Not satisfied with the reduced sentence, a BLM manager appealed the reduced sentence previously served and a judge agreed, reinstating the full sentence, requiring Dwight and Steven Hammond to serve five years in a federal prison. If the men in the Hammond family cannot work the land, they cannot secure the funds for the fine. The women are left with that burden, and while their husbands are sitting in federal prison, they are faced with the challenge of paying the fine or selling the land.

So, for now, all eyes will be on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and the armed militia who has taken control of the refuge headquarters. No doubt many will consider them domestic terrorists, but because of them, those who choose to investigate the whole story will learn more about big government and its strong-armed, bullying, land-grab tactics.