Watchwolf49 hasn’t visited it, therefore it’s a waste of taxpayer money. Answers are easy when the question is always “but what do I get out of it?”
And I know it’s not the place for a serious question, but I’m too lazy to open another thread and since Colibri’s already here…
What is the ecological risk of waiting them out until they give up? At what point is there damage done to the birds’ habitat and migratory patterns if the militants somehow manage to open up the land for grazing?
The building and reserve belong to the taxpayers. I’m sure the people who visit there appreciate the restrooms and Gift Shop and vending machines and area where they can learn more about the history of the reserve and the critters the reserve supports.
A big mound of nonbiodegradable snack-wrappers.
The federally-owned and -operated United States Post Office! Hilarious.
They are free to come and go AFAIK and police have not blocked access. So they can go to get food they just want others to foot the bill. Fucking moochers
Not sure about that. If Twitter is to be believed, it sounds like most of the snacks they’ll be getting are of the falafel and hummus variety.
Have you ever visited a park/refuge etc. visitor’s center, ever? If so, you’re a fucking hypocrite.
I can’t speak to the impact on birds, but cattle grazing is extremely damaging from the perspective of stream ecology. In the desert, animals gather around water sources. Cattle trample the native riparian vegetation, destabilizing slopes and leading to incised streams that move water much more quickly than natural channels. Changes in water velocity, sediment load, temperature, etc. are quickly seen in the benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) community that occupies the streams. The BMI community is a fundamental part of the aquatic food web, and the ecological changes can cascade from there. Malheur Lake is awfully big and is probably pretty resilient, but the streams running into and out of it are very susceptible to damage.
Worse than the changes, though, is the fact that it’s so difficult to undo them. It’s easy to straighten a meandering stream; it’s an expensive, multi-year project to return a straightened channel to a (more) natural condition.
Before Colibri comes buzzing again 
the first issue I notice is that because of the danger it is clear that important research and monitoring is on hold until the bastards are removed.
One very Ironic thing is that hunters that are allowed to come with permission are prevented from doing so thanks to the clowns in the area, so that is a source of revenue denied to the state. That means that money that is used for monitoring, cleanup and maintenance efforts will have to come from other sources. Yes, not from hunters or visitors, but now more of it will have to come from all Americans.
During winter this last item about hunting is less important, but as we know, the midlife militias declared that they are planning to stay there for longer than the winter will last.
What is the likelihood that any of these militants will do any of that? They are merely freedom fighters, I seriously doubt even one of them will venture as much as a mile from French Glen. And, well, the locals are mostly not interested in coöperating with them.
Well, he hasn’t seceded yet!
Send in a group of little old ladies to re-open the visitor center and ignore these guys. Except for free coffee and information brochures of course.
You want to see tough? Send in the grandmothers.
With umbrellas?
This could be their band name and they could call the album “The Sedition Mission BYOS (bring your own snacks)” and I have a few song suggestions for them.
“The Sedition Mission but BYOS (bring your own snacks)”
“This land is my land, and your land is my land”
“The rent is too damn high, so give it me free”
“It ain’t welfare if your white”
“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro”
I could also see them producing a country cover tribute version of Skrewdriver’s “get on the boat”
Healthy cookies, de-caf and Splenda.
Best idea yet. It defuses the situation and makes them look even more ridiculous.
Many of the posters here aren’t taxpayers, though.
For “Patriots”, they ARE pretty damned Puny…
And if 'Merica wants sprinkles on them, we should ALL be Happy to Oblige.
YallQaeda. Because this guy needs an update.
Well, its just a damn shame we can’t give them a little spice to go along with that.
So?
The Bundyites are there early, waiting for the spring migration when they will exercise their 2nd amendment rights.
