Sagebrush Collaboration: How Harney County Defeated the Takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge

by Peter Walker

Every American is co-owner of the most magnificent estate in the world—federal public forests, grazing lands, monuments, national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public places. The writer Wallace Stegner famously referred to public lands as “America’s best idea,” but there have always been some who oppose the idea for ideological reasons, or because they have a vested economic interest. In the current decade, federal public lands have been under physical threat as never before, with armed standoffs and takeovers that the US government has proved stunningly unsuccessful at prosecuting in federal courts.

One such incident was the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, in 2016. Armed militants seized the headquarters of the refuge for forty-one days and occupied the community for three months. Militants threatened and harassed local residents, pledging to “give back” the land to unnamed “rightful owners” in their effort to enact a fringe interpretation of the US Constitution.

Drawing on more than two years of intensive fieldwork, Sagebrush Collaboration shows that the militants failed in their objectives because the sensible and hardworking citizens of Harney County had invested decades in collaboratively solving the very problems that the militia used to justify their anti–federal government revolution.

In Sagebrush Collaboration, Peter Walker offers the first book-length study of why the 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge failed. His nuanced and deeply researched account provides the full context for the takeover, including the response from local and federal officials and the grassroots community resistance. It will be essential reading for years to come for anyone who wants to understand the ongoing battle over the future of America’s public lands.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History

272 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2018

About the author

Peter Walker studies the social factors that shape human interactions with the environment, with emphasis on the rural American West, and Africa. After the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early 2016, Walker became almost a part-time resident of Harney County while writing this book. A native Westerner, Walker received his doctorate at UC Berkeley and has served on the faculty of the University of Oregon since 1997.

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who have followed the Bundy craziness from day one of the refuge occupation (like me), there's not a whole lot of new information here. That said, I do appreciate the first hand viewpoints from Professor Walker who witness much of the Bundy crazy.

For those wanting to get a solid take on what happened and how events unfolded and the Bundy nutters, I would recommend this book over any others I've read so far. If someone could please explain to me now how the prosecutors screwed it up so bad they all got off with little to no jail time....

[Bluntzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. Informative, optimistic, pragmatic. Walker does an excellent job laying out the position, history and strategy of Harney County locals in the face of an occupation by militant, anti-government protesters.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although, it was hard not to follow the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge occupation by the Bundy militia if you lived in Oregon, I was overly concerned about the occupation because as a “Birder”, Malhuer is my birding mecca. I wanted to know more about the motivation of the occupiers and ultimately what role the community played in preventing a very tense and threatening situation from resulting in serious bloodshed.

Author, Peter Walker filled in both some background information on the refuge, the community, and extensive information on the collaboration processes the ranchers had with Federal Government agencies like the BLM and Fish and Wildlife regarding the use of forest lands, grazing lands & water. The author used extensive interviews from citizens from Harney County which showed their resilience, courage, and determination to get through and past this traumatic event.

Harvey County’s citizens have created boards, partnerships, and initiatives with government agencies that allows citizens and agency employees to have a voice when it came to managing forests, grassland and water. These collaborative entities have successfully resolved difficult issues that can typically occur with forest, grassland, and water use, as well as issues regarding a large National Wildlife Refuge in the midst of this county.

The communities did not support this armed take over by outsiders and rejected Bundy’s call to severe working relationships with the federal agencies. The leaders of the Bundy Militia had a poor understanding of the tight knit community members and their successful collaboration with the government agencies to solve problems. This ultimately resulted in the complete rejection of Bundy’s plan. Ammon Bundy was an arrogant outsider, who took over a beloved wildlife refuge with a group of armed men, threaten federal employees and community members, and had preconceived ideas about issues that he felt could be used to gain support. He knew little about the working relationships, friendships, and pride Harney County held. The Bundy’s did not do their homework - Harney County was not a wise choice to debut their “constitutional takeover”.

It is disturbing to recognize that these militias are growing in numbers, especially since the 2016 election and that their tactics are aggressive and dangerous. Their distain for government “over reach” and interpretation of the US constitution is radical.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the Bundy brothers and their gang decided to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, they assumed that the rural community surrounding the refuge would flock to their cause and support their efforts to reappropriate federal lands. NOPE!

Sagebrush Collaboration details through interviews and other research how Harney County was overwhelmingly against the Bundys and their gang. (Even those who may have sympathized with their cause disagreed with their tactics and random geographical choice.) Peter Walker discusses the formation of specific regional collaborative councils pre-dating the Bundy takeover, how and why those came about, and how their existence may have played a key role in the Bundys having almost no community support during their takeover.

My favorite section of the book is simply a deep fact-check of one of Ammon's more quoted press-conference statements ending with his stated wish to "getting the ranchers back to ranching, the loggers back to logging, the miners back to mining." Walker discusses the economic numbers over time of these three industries in Harney County, eventually finding that Ammon had really no knowledge of the area and the hard facts before making this statement. (And plenty of others, as it turns out.)

The book is a bit academic so points are reinforced time and again, but I think that Walker has an interesting angle on the story that other occupation reporters have mostly ignored: the impact of the occupation on the surrounding community and their reaction. In November I attended an author event at Powell's in Portland where Walker presented a fair amount of material that departed from the book, and discussed Bundy antics that have happened in the months since his manuscript was submitted to OSU Press. My goal is to read all the books being published in the wake of this event, but as the first to hit the shelves this was not a bad first read.

The following is a sentence from the final paragraphs that struck me as food for thought:
"As rural America continues to struggle with economic and social challenges that create fertile ground for those who advocate radical and violent solutions, society would be well advised to see investment in collaborative problem-solving in other communities as a way not only to manage natural resources, but also to build a more resilient society."

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember well how distressed I was when a group of militants moved into the little town of Burns, Oregon and "took over" the Malheur Refuge Headquarters. We watched and listened from afar. Harney County suffered the reality and the consequences. Walker's book is well researched and carefully written; it includes numerous quotes from area ranchers and residents. Walker was present during and after the takeover. Harney County is the size of Massachusetts with just over 7,000 people. The county has a long history of collaborative decision-making. Because the Bundys did no research, they were surprised to find that the majority of people there had little or no interest in his agenda. I found this account informative.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exquisitely combines a first-person account of many aspects of the 2016 occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge with an academic analysis of how one community’s collaborative efforts with federal agencies resulted in the resilience necessary to stand up for that community’s values when challenged by uninvited militia groups. City Club of Eugene (Oregon) programs about the occupation led me to this book by University of Oregon Professor Peter Walker. If the Bundyville podcasts intrigue you, then this book must find its way to your reading list.

[Uintah Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent journalistic review of a seminal event in the West. Walker is not unbiased, but he supports his position thoroughly, and fairly. For someone not intimately involved or a resident of Harney County, the degree of detail and amount of repetition is a little over the top ~ I skimmed much of the last half. Otherwise, well done. And congratuations to Harney County residents. I read that, unfortunately, they're currently experiencing serious budget difficulties, and Sheriff Dave Ward is planning to quit as a result.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for every Oregonian, and not a bad idea for those who don't understand the rural divide. The interviews with the local population and those officials involved are priceless. There is the news report and then there is this excellent elaboration of what went on and how it effects the community today. More importantly, with the rise of extreme racist and nationalistic groups, this is a great insight into how a community could stand their own and defend themselves against ignorance and division.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the prose is serviceable and the chapters could use some rearranging, this is still an important read--especially now that Trump et al are trying to destroy all the good bits of government. Highlighting the long processes and communication required to build trust among groups with different desires, Walker shows how Harney County used their history of mutual aid and independence to forge workable partnerships with the government and environmental groups for win-win outcomes. And how this set them up to resist the Bundy's ignorant calls for revolution against the federal government.

[Vjera · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of the armed takeover of one of my favorite birding locations, Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge, and how Harney County’s collaborative community was able to diffuse it. There’s irony in the takeover happening in one of the rural counties that’s put the most effort into working with the government to find solutions that work for everyone in the community.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. The resiliency of the Harney County residents is inspiring. I picked this up when visiting the refuge for the first time. Kudos to Harney County for standing strong in the face of intimidation and threats.

[Tabetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Forced" to read this for a required DEI class at my school (went way too try-hard with picking a 400 level class for that...). Ended up agreeing with the ideology of the people being critiqued if only they were smarter with how they did it. ¡Muy interesante!

[Sonia Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into the history of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge takeover and how the county responded.

[Melissa Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived through this event as a federal employee in my hometown. Peter did a great job talking about the complex issues at play. I am proud of my hometown and he captured many of the reasons why.