Another snip>

For years, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have been working with local ranchers — along with tribes and environmentalists — to find common ground on how to manage the Malheur refuge. This helped set the stage for other Harney County partnerships such as the protection of sage grouse habitat on private lands.

Some say these collaborative efforts helped blunt the extremists’ recruitment efforts among Harney County ranchers, which include 13 that hold leases to graze on refuge lands. In January, occupation leaders organized an event at refuge headquarters to showcase ranchers rejecting federal leases. But only one cattleman stepped onto the stage — and he was from Arizona.

“That’s the reason they didn’t gain traction,” said Chad Karges, the refuge manager. “Everyone was already working together.”

The Harney County ranchers who graze on the Malheur are now deep into one of their most hectic periods, the spring calving season. But on Thursday, they took time out to to host a welcome-back barbecue for the refuge employees.

The menu feature sliced beef, with sides of cheesy potatoes, broccoli and fruit salad. “It was fantastic,” Beck said. “There were way more ranching families than refuge staff. It was a big party.”

The management of public lands in that area (and in a lot of areas) has been worked out over the years by various stakeholders, including the government, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts, and environmentalists. If one faction's interest gains too much primacy, the others act to moderate that influence. The Bundys want ranchers and ranchers only to decide how the land is to be used, mostly to their benefit. They use the rubric of wise use or local control, but at root it's just plain selfishness.

Thanks