Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

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Administration building of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Map of the protected area

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed nature reserve on the type of a National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County , Oregon . The area is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and protects one of the most important roosting areas for migratory birds in the western United States. The area includes an archaeological site that was settled up to 9,000 years ago. It is surrounded by the Malheur National Forest .

history

The area of ​​today's nature reserve was discovered by hunters in the 1880s. 1908 discovered the nature photographer William L. Finley and Herman T. Bohlman that the population of egrets on Malheur Lake had been severely decimated by hunters in 1898 and had not recovered in the ten intervening years. With the support of the Oregon Audubon Society , they suggested creating a bird sanctuary. Effective August 18, 1908, the bird sanctuary was established as Lake Malheur Reservation , which initially comprised 187,757 acres (about 760 square kilometers ). In 1935, the reserve was expanded by 65,000 acres (about 263 square kilometers) of the Blitzen Valley . The purpose of the expansion was to ensure the water supply for the lake area of ​​the original Lake Malheur Reservation . The Field Station was originally a Youth Civilian Conservation Job Corps camp and was established in 1969. In 1971 a consortium of several universities used the 36 buildings as the starting point for their research and education station. In 1987 the Great Basin Society took over responsibility for the building and furnishings.

In January 2016, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was occupied by gunmen. The occasion was protests against extended prison terms against two farmers from Harney County . These farmers had started several bushfires over the years, some of which spread to the reserve. The Federal Court of Appeal had initially increased mild sentences in October 2015 to five years in prison - according to an anti-terror law of 1996, which punishes the damage to state property particularly severely. After a demonstration, some protesters, led by Ammon Bundy, son of the Patriot Movement rancher Cliven Bundy, occupied the park administration building.

Web links

Commons : Malheur National Wildlife Refuge  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ian K. Kullgren: Burns Paiute Tribe: Militants need to get off 'our land'. In: The Oregonian / Oregon Live. January 6, 2016, accessed January 22, 2016 .
  2. ^ Oregon under attack: Native American tribe tells militia to 'get the hell out' of ancestral lands. In: ibtimes.co.uk. January 8, 2016, accessed January 23, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Les Zaitz: Malheur Field Station director left after learning: 'You have an armed militia down the road In: The Oregoneon . 2nd January 2016.
  4. ^ Martin Barillas: CNN analyst says federal response to Occupy Malheur is appropriate. In: Spero News. January 4, 2016, accessed January 6, 2016
  5. ↑ Marc Pitzke: Right-wing ranchers occupy the National Park: High Noon in the ice desert. In: Spiegel Online . 4th January 2016.

Coordinates: 43 ° 15 '50.6 "  N , 118 ° 50' 52.9"  W.