** Bundy supporters raise possibility of armed insurrection over water supplies
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Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, fed by water from the Klamath Project | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ([link removed])
Now in the 22nd year of a megadrought, extreme conditions are raising tensions across the West. In southern Oregon, a crippling lack of water in the Klamath basin is causing immense die-offs of birds and endangered fish. For the first time, managers of the federal Klamath Project—a 114-year old series of dams and canals—have informed water users that parts of the system will run dry, inflaming decades-long conflicts and increasing fears of armed insurrection ([link removed]) by anti-government extremists.
Native American tribes have long depended on harvesting species of salmon and sucker in the Klamath basin, populations of which have plummeted as the government seized and sold their land, leading to eventual designations on the Endangered Species List. Twenty years ago, amidst unprecedented drought conditions, federal water managers implemented supply cutbacks to protect the fish and surrounding ecosystems, leading armed ranchers to storm public lands ([link removed]) and physically force open irrigation headgates. While U.S. Marshals eventually took control of the facility, tribal members faced increasing threats of physical violence, and three men were charged with going on a racist shooting spree in a local town.
Now, nearby ranchers have purchased land directly adjacent to federal irrigation headgates in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and are inviting infamous anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy ([link removed]) to join their cause in stoking a violent uprising. Not all local stakeholders are pleased with the idea of an armed insurrection. "Those idiots, they have no business being here," said ([link removed]) Ben Duval, president of the Klamath Water Users Association. "I don’t want them here. I’d say 95% of us are reasonable, and ... we don’t want them to take this crisis in our community and use it as a soapbox to push their agenda. And that’s what they’re looking for. They’re looking for a stage."
Increasingly, though, some ranchers and community members are feeling emboldened after members of the Bundy family were acquitted on charges stemming from their armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and armed standoff with federal agents over cattle illegally grazing on public lands. Unfortunately, with a hot and dry summer forecast, tensions are only expected to grow.
Quick hits
** Biden administration freezes Trump oil leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending review
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])
** The promise and pressures of Deb Haaland, first Native American cabinet secretary
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Oil companies and uranium miners eye land near Bears Ears National Monument
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KUER ([link removed])
** Biden administration continues to defend Trump-era drilling and mining projects in court
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Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
** California races to plant milkweed as monarch butterfly populations drop 99%
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Amid historic drought, new water war bubbles up in the West
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Sacramento Bee ([link removed])
** How do animals safely cross a highway? Here's a look
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Editorial: Senator Daines should support Stone-Manning for Bureau of Land Management director
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Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Stone-Manning is far more qualified than the last BLM leader Daines supported — William Perry Pendley, the lawyer who advocated selling off federal lands. Her confirmation would go far toward restoring professionalism to a politicized agency, and would clearly be both an honor and an advantage for Montana.”
—Billings Gazette Editorial Board ([link removed])
Picture this
The 80-mile Black Canyon Trail provides mountain bikers with a long range back country trail riding opportunity. This historic trail is of national significance, following a route used since the times of pre-historic Native American travelers and traders. This trail provides a challenging ride experience characterized by rough, unstable soils and rocks, with various trail grades and numerous elevation changes within a harsh desert climate. The trail meanders through Arizona's Sonoran Desert landscape, including saguaro forests and rugged canyons.
Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
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