The land out here is vast, in some places stretching as far as the eye can see in between homes, towns, any signs of humanity. It is rugged and dry, and holds a sense of emptiness, of loneliness. But to the observant wanderer, it is in fact a place full of life, from the twisted juniper trees to the strange-colored lichens spreading over the ground. One can find traces of the animals that have passed through, coyote scat, rabbit tracks, the remnants of a cougar kill up in a tree, huge bird nests up in the craggy cliff bands. And, of course, the evidence of people, shotgun shells, broken glass, old appliances, and cows.
People seem to have a habit of taking what they have for granted until threatened with its loss. It is certainly true when it comes to land use. We have a long history of over-use, it is evident in any industry that involves using or extracting natural resources. It begins with discovery, then fortunes are made, and more and more people jump on board, and then, the resource begins to run out. That is the point at which people either destroy the resource altogether, or take steps to protect and manage it.
It is undeniable that humans impact the environment, our proliferation around the world has clearly changed the land. It is also undeniable that natural resources are required for our survival. We need food, water, shelter, just like every species. And this need, and all the times we’ve allowed it to devolve into excessive over-use of resources, along with the desire to protect what we don’t want to lose, has left us with a decades-old, emotional, sometimes violent debate.
Once again, this debate has exploded out of its usual confines of rural America and into the national spotlight with the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife refuge in Harney County. Ignoring the very basic fact that nature seeks balance, the media is frantically fueling the polarizing rhetoric. Either you are an angry, spoiled white guy with lots of guns attempting to grab all of the public land, or you are against the occupation and want the spoiled white guys arrested, maybe even bombed with drones. Few seem willing to pause long enough in the argument to really listen to each other. Just what is the beef with Federal land management?
The situation in Harney County presents a good starting place to look at this question because there is a long history of problems there. Anyone who has paid any attention to the story of the refuge occupation knows that it began with a protest rally in support of Dwight and Steven Hammond, who were sentenced for arson under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act for starting two fires on their land that spread to BLM land, burning a total of 140 acres. The group occupying the refuge want the Hammonds freed from prison, among other things. The Hammonds’ battle with the BLM has been going on for decades, long before they lit the two fires that got them branded as terrorist arsons. And they aren’t alone.
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