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Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located roughly 30 miles (48 km) south of the city of Burns in Oregon's Harney Basin. Administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge area is roughly T-shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the northeast section at Malheur Lake and the northwest section at Harney Lake. The refuge is a popular site for birding, fishing, hunting and hiking.

History

The Harney Basin was home to the nomadic Paiute prior to exploration and settlement of the area by non-Native peoples. The Paiute utilized the area for hunting and fishing, and did not live in permanent settlements. The arrival of settlers in the region led to restrictions on the use of the land by the Paiute, who were eventually restricted to living in a reservation. The Paiute were forced to leave the area after enacting a brief uprising in 1878, and were resettled in Yakama Reservation, 350 miles (560 km) away in southeastern Washington.

After the removal of the Paiute, much of the region's land became public property. The region hosted large livestock operations while the area's water resources were altered by irrigation and drainage projects. Beginning in the late 1880s, the area's bird populations were diminished by the actions of plume hunters who harvested the showy feathers of Malhuer's waterfowl for use as hat ornaments. In response, the Oregon Audubon Society lobbied for federal protection of the region.

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was created on August 18, 1908 by a proclamation from President Theodore Roosevelt, under a law which allowed the president to declare game preserves on federal public land. The refuge began as a 81,786-acre (330.98 km) parcel surrounding Malhuer Lake, Haney Lake and Mud Lake, and was originally named the Malheur Lake Refuge. The refuge was named after the Malheur River.

In the years that followed, the refuge grew to its current size of 187,757 acres (759.83 km) through federal purchases and acquisitions of surrounding lands. A large expansion occurred in 1935, when a 65,000-acre (260 km) parcel was purchased from a meat packing company. While cattle grazing was permitted on some portions of the property after 1935, the prioritization of the needs of the refuge's wildlife led to reductions in the number of cattle allowed on the property starting in the 1970s.

2016 armed occupation incident

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On January 2, 2016, the headquarters building was seized by armed protesters related to the Bundy standoff. The group is protesting the prison sentences of two ranchers (Dwight and Steven Hammond) convicted of arson in wildfires set in 2001 and 2006, in which a jury found them guilty of intentionally setting fires on federal land without authorization.

The current "armed standoff", is without doubt, a consequence of the US government's (Department of the Interior) failure to inflict a penalty on their father, Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, for refusal to pay decades worth of grazing fees on public land; and holding government Marshall's at gun point in April,2014.

Wildlife

Wildlife in the area includes as many as 320 species of birds and 58 species of mammals in desert, grassland, marsh and rimrock habitats. Malheur serves as a Pacific Flyway stop for the northern pintail and tundra swan, lesser and greater sandhill crane, snow goose and Ross’ goose. Ducks, grebes, pelicans and trumpeter swans are drawn to the numerous ponds, marshes and lakes. Deer, antelopes, ducks, pheasants, thrashers and quails can be found in the upland areas in sagebrush, greasewood and wild rye.

Refuge officials have been actively managing an overabundance of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the refuge since at least the 1970s. The invasive fish species was likely introduced to the refuge's waterways prior to the 1920s as a food source, and has been recognized as an ecological threat to the region since the 1950s. Carp are aggressive feeders that have reduced food availability and diminished habitat quality for the migratory bird species that utilize the refuge's marshes and lakes as part of the Pacific flyway. In 2014, a $35,000 contract to capture and remove carp was awarded to a fishing crew that specializes in the removal of invasive fish species.

Geography

The Donner und Blitzen River flows northward through the middle of the refuge, and is irrigated out to create a large artificial wetland, where once a natural wetland stood. The Donner und Blitzen River flows into Malheur Lake, which flows into Harney Lake forming a large salt lake. This open water brings thousands of migrating birds through the wildlife refuge every year.

Including the extensive marshland, the total size of the refuge is 187,757 acres (759.83 km). Exceptionally hot in the summer, and cold in the winter, the late spring and early fall are popular times to visit. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is home to one of the most extensive freshwater marsh ecosystems in the western United States.

See also

• Malheur National Forest, located north of the refuge
• List of National Wildlife Refuges in Oregon

References

1. ^ Miller, Char (January 7, 2016). "The complicated history of who really 'owns' the occupied land in Oregon". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
2. ^ Rein, Lisa (January 5, 2016). "The Oregon refuge occupied by Bundy is one of the first wildlife sanctuaries in the U.S." The Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
3. Langston, Nancy (January 6, 2016). "In Oregon, Myth Mixes With Anger". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
4. Zaitz, Les. "Militia takes over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters". Oregonlive. The Oregonian. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
5. Wiles, Tay (January 4, 2016). "Malheur occupation, explained". High Country News. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
6. "Eastern Oregon Ranchers Convicted of Arson Resentenced to Five Years in Prison". United States Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/07/not-punishing-the-bundys-for-the-nevada-standoff-led-to-the-occupation-in-oregon/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-posteverything%3Ahomepage%2Fcard
8. "Malheur National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
9. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/opinion/bird-watching-patriotism-and-the-oregon-standoff.html?ref=opinion
10. Schwartz, Devan (June 9, 2014). "Turning Around Malheur Wildlife Refuge One Carp Carcass At A Time". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 8, 2016.

External links

• Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

• Current events from January 2016
• 1908 establishments in Oregon
• Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon
• Landforms of Harney County, Oregon
• National Wildlife Refuges in Oregon
• Protected areas established in 1908
• Protected areas of Harney County, Oregon
• Wetlands of Oregon