As the FBI focuses on its criminal investigation at the national wildlife refuge taken over by an armed group, land managers must get ready to reopen the 300 square-mile area, which draws birdwatchers, anglers and hunters and is a key economic engine of the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, snow is melting and filling the untended irrigation canals at the refuge. Tourist groups are beginning to plan summer trips. Local business owners are wondering what their normally busy summer season will look like. Residents are wondering if the deep divisions in the community created by the 41-day standoff will leave lasting scars.
In other words, the clock is still ticking for a community eager to resume normal life.
“People need to heal,” said Linda Gainer, owner of The Narrows restaurant and RV park. The business is just a few miles from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and counts on the dollars spent by birdwatchers and other tourists. “I didn’t have any people say, ‘I’ll never be your friend again.’ But we did have crappy emails. I’m hoping the birders come back.”
One National Audubon Society group from Portland has already contacted the business to make a dinner reservation for their annual trip, which left Gainer feeling relieved. “That was one of the best emails I think I’ve ever had,” she said.
A group of armed protesters angry about federal land-use policy seized the southeastern Oregon property on Jan. 2, demanding the U.S. turn over public lands to locals and exposing simmering anger over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western range. Several people have been arrested during the standoff, and one protester was shot during a confrontation with police several miles from the refuge.
The last four holdouts at the refuge surrendered Feb. 11.
Larry Karl, the assistant special agent in charge for the FBI in Portland, said it will take several weeks for officials to collect evidence and clear the crime scene. Then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be tasked with cleaning up the site, including garbage or debris left by the people who occupied the refuge during the standoff. Because dirt was moved — potentially damaging prehistoric archaeological sites — and thousands of artifacts are stored at the refuge, archaeologists and members of the Burns Paiute Tribe will have to spend time making sure nothing is missing or damaged and repairing any problems.