Interior secretary visits site of Oregon armed protest

[March 22, 2016]  SEATTLE (Reuters) - Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Monday visited the Oregon wildlife refuge seized during a 41-day occupation by armed anti-government protesters and met with federal employees, local officials and tribal leaders in the area.

Jewell's trip came as more than two dozen militants arrested in connection with the standoff face federal charges that include conspiring to impede federal officers at the compound and causing damage to sacred tribal burial grounds.

"As the community continues to recover from the illegal occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, I know that deepening the strong partnerships already in place will be important to the healing process," Jewell said in a statement.

At the end of the occupation in February, the FBI said it found a trench of human feces and a road excavated on or next to a sensitive cultural site containing Indian artifacts.

The agency said it was working with the Burns Paiute Tribe to identify damage to the tribe's artifacts and sacred burial grounds. The status of that investigation and the full extent of the damage were unclear.

As part of her trip to southeastern Oregon, Jewell consulted with members of the Burns Paiute governing council at their tribal headquarters, according to Interior Department spokesman Blake Androff.

Earlier in the day, she toured the refuge and met with federal land managers, as well as various community leaders, including Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, in the town of Burns about 30 miles north of the refuge, Androff said.

The occupation, which began on Jan. 2 with at least a dozen armed men, was sparked by the return to prison of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires that spread to federal property in the vicinity of the refuge. The protesters also framed it as a challenge to the legitimacy of federal control over millions of acres of public lands in the West.

An indictment unsealed on March 9 charges protesters with carrying firearms in federal facilities and damaging and stealing government property, in addition to conspiring to impede federal officers policing the refuge.

It also charged two participants with depredation of government property caused by damage to an archeological site considered sacred to the Burns Paiute Tribe through the use of excavation and heavy equipment.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Dan Grebler and Andrew Hay)

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