Since Saturday, an armed group has occupied a federal complex at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. Led by Nevada rancher Ammon Bundy, the members say they are there in large part to protest federal land management policies.
So far no violence has occurred, though some of the militants have said they are willing to die for their cause.
The group represents a fringe expressing strong anti-federal sentiment. But this animosity toward the federal government is nothing new in the West, says Boise State University public lands expert John Freemuth. Leaders of the Sagebrush Rebellion of the 1970s and 1980s demanded more state control of public lands, and more recent attempts to transfer federal land continue today.
Freemuth says this anti-government tension dates back to the creation of the first national forests and parks.
He says today's polarized political climate has amplified the fight, and presidential politics are a source of much of the angst.
“You certainly see more of this when the Democrats run the show," says Freemuth. "You saw it with Clinton, and certainly you’re seeing it now. But the Obama paranoia here is probably something you didn’t see with Clinton as much.”
Freemuth notes that most Republican presidential candidates have stayed away from the topic. He says that’s because the subject of public lands isn’t well understood by people outside of western states.
Follow reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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