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 The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the small town of Burns
have been thrust into the spotlight by the takeover, which began on
Saturday and marked the latest protest over federal management of
millions of acres (hectares)of land in the West.
"We do have a plan," protest leader Ammon Bundy told reporters at
the refuge. "We see a time coming very soon when the community will
begin ... to take that over, so they can claim their own rights, so
that they can stand strong enough to defend them. And then we will
go home."
The reaction to the takeover among residents of Burns, about 30
miles (48 km) north of the refuge, has included sympathy for the
jailed ranchers from the area whose plight inspired the action, and
criticism of the armed protesters.
Ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and his son, Steven, who surrendered on
Monday to serve longer prison terms for setting fires that spread to
federal land, were regulars at a diner in Burns where customers said
they feared the federal government wanted to seize ranch lands for
its own use.
 "The BLM wants that land bad and they'll probably end up getting
it," said Tim Slate, a butcher who said he had gone out to slaughter
the Hammonds' cattle many times over the years, using an acronym for
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. "The federal government wants to
take over the state of Oregon and turn it into a park."
Diners voiced skepticism about Bundy, the son of a Nevada rancher
who along with a large group of armed men stared down federal agents
in 2014 when they tried to confiscate his cattle over unpaid grazing
fees.
"I don't think it's right to take over a public building," said
James Arndt, a retired painter. "I'm kind of mixed about that."
'NOT ABOUT FEAR'
He echoed other residents of the town of 3,000 people about 280
miles (450 km) southeast of Portland, who saw the occupation as the
work of outsiders. The Hammonds' lawyers have sought to dissociate
themselves from the occupiers.
But Bundy said some locals had stopped by with food.
"A particular rancher ... brought a very, very good pot of soup that
was needed on a late night when we were very hungry," Bundy told the
news conference.
"We're not about fear, we're not about force, we're not about
intimidation," he said. "If the government is bringing that fear and
intimidation, it needs to be checked and balanced."
Early in the occupation, Bundy said many of his supporters were
armed, although its members have not been showing weapons in recent
days.
Authorities have closed schools for the week in the area out of
concerns of possible violence, but the occupation has so far been
peaceful.
At the refuge on Tuesday, an entrance sign was draped with U.S.
flags that almost completely obscured the logo of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
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Reporters were allowed to roam outside the dozen or so buildings
around the visitor center, which include stone cottages for staff,
storage units and other outbuildings, and even a small gas station.
Michael Stettler, 49, said he took time off from work at a hardware
store in Lake View, California, to drive up with his dog and visit
for a few days because he was curious about whether he was getting
the full story from the media.
"I got insight into what life is like as a federal employee: pretty
cush!" Stettler said, describing well-heated buildings and amenities
including a gym. He said he spent the morning shoveling snow and
prizing open a frozen door, and that the night was spent
comfortably.
"They've got propane and wood stoves for heat," he said.
COMMUNITY MEETING
Harney County Sheriff David Ward has called on the protesters to go
home, and planned to meet with county residents later on Tuesday to
discuss their concerns about the situation.
Neither protesters nor authorities have said how many people are
involved in the occupation. About a dozen occupiers have been
visible at the site.
Federal law enforcement officials have kept their distance,
following guidelines instituted to prevent a repeat of deadly
standoffs such as those in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and Waco, Texas in the
early 1990s.
The success of the 2014 standoff at the Bundy ranch likely
emboldened the refuge occupiers, commentators said.
"They won," said Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center,
which tracks extremist groups.
"The group that's holed up there in Burns seems to think they're
going to take that same idea to another level: You solve your issues
over land usage or grazing fees or whatever by refusing to pay up
and then using weapons to run cops off the land."
(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Andy Sullivan and Doina
Chiacu in Washington and Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles; Writing
by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter
Cooney)
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