New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich wants the feds to step up and do
something about an armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in
Oregon. The armed anti-government protesters seized the refuge at the start of this month, demanding the land be handed over the state. It's the latest in a series of fights over public lands in the west. Sen. Heinrich is concerned that the feds aren't doing anything about
it. Thursday, he wrote a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch
calling on her to prosecute anyone in the group who has broken the law. He hopes action from the feds will stop anyone from seizing federal land in New Mexico...
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The Heinrich press release is here and the letter is here. In addition, Senator Heinrich posted the following on his FB page and website:
Senator Martin Heinrich
All
of us own our public lands, not just this group of armed radicals. When
America’s public lands are threatened by state or elite private
interests, this does not sit well with Westerners. In fact, it is
deeply unpopular in New Mexico and across the West. Here’s the reality:
these takings put everyone’s access to our national forests and
wildlife refuges at risk—including those who like to camp, hike, hunt
and fish. If states take control of federal lands, uses will be sh
arply
limited. How do we know? Camping is already prohibited on State Trust
lands in New Mexico and most Colorado state lands are closed to public
hunters. And millions of acres of state lands across the West have
already been auctioned to private and corporate interests.
The armed takeover and irresponsible vandalism at the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge is only the latest example in a well-organized and
well-funded campaign to seize and sell off public lands. These are not
the values of mainstream Westerners whose way of life depends on the
region’s land and water. There must be legal consequences for this sort
of dangerous action.
Here's the KOB report:
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