Oregon Occupation Ends As Last Holdout Surrenders

After 41 days, the Oregon occupation is over: All four militants who remained at an occupied wildlife refuge have surrendered to the FBI.

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The armed militia takeover of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is over: The final holdout at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge turned himself in to the FBI after earlier saying he will “die a free man.”

David Fry walked out of the refuge and into custody, ending the standoff 41 days after it began. Fry was the lone holdout for part of Thursday after his three companions surrendered to the FBI earlier. Speaking via telephone to his supporters, in a conversation that was broadcast online, Fry appeared to be disturbed over a variety of issues, including the federal government, UFOs, and marijuana.

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The four holdouts in an armed protest at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon surrendered on Thursday, with the last occupier repeatedly threatening suicide during an intense phone call with mediators before he finally walked out, ending the 41-day standoff with the FBI.

David Fry, 27, had stayed behind for more than an hour and told supporters by phone he had not agreed with the other three to leave. The call was broadcast live on an audio feed posted on the Internet.

"I'm actually pointing a gun at my head. I'm tired of living," Fry said during the phone call. He later added, "Until you address my grievances, you're probably going to have to watch me be killed, or kill myself."

Fry was alternately defiant and distraught during the rambling final call, veering from rants about the federal government to his thoughts on UFOs. He surrendered after taking a final cigarette and cookie and asking his mediators to shout "hallelujah."

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THall said:

The Federal Government has agencies
that are corrupt. Illegally taking control
of land that they want.

This is the beginning of the fight,
no where near the end.

Click to expand...

THall said:

The Federal Government has agencies
that are corrupt. Illegally taking control
of land that they want.

This is the beginning of the fight,
no where near the end.

Click to expand...

As we mark the end of a six-week standoff at an Oregon wildlife refuge, it’s important that we return our focus to finding collaborative ways to use and protect our country’s natural resources.

Armed protesters seized Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in early January, citing grievances such as grazing restrictions on public lands and the prison sentences of two ranchers. The ensuing standoff created a national narrative about illegal seizure of public lands and using firearms as negotiating tools.

Although this incident shines a light on the challenges of sharing and managing natural resources in fair and responsible ways, we should not let it overshadow the bigger story—the story of successful collaboration to conserve our country’s natural heritage.

Malheur—a mecca for birdwatchers, fishermen, hunters and hikers—is also a place where ranchers, government and organizations like the Nature Conservancy (TNC) are working together to maintain both a way of life and the health of the land.

For example, these partners in 2013 helped establish a 15-year management plan that allows authorized ranchers to graze their cattle on the refuge. Not only does this maintain the ranchers’ livelihoods, but it also benefits the land—the grazing gets rid of invasive weeds that damage wildlife habitat.

For decades, ranchers, state and federal agencies, rural communities and environmental organizations like TNC have worked together to collaboratively conserve America’s lands, waters and wildlife in ways that benefit everyone involved.

These types of cooperative partnerships exist in every state, and ranchers often play a key role. Six of every 10 acres in the lower 48 states are privately owned. The source of half our nation’s water supply, these properties also provide habitat for two-thirds of our threatened and endangered species. Without good stewardship of these private lands, the natural benefits they provide would disappear.

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Federal authorities said the refuge would remain closed for several weeks as agents secured what was now considered a crime scene and scoured it for fugitives or explosives.

The protesters told authorities they left behind booby traps but did not say whether the trip wires and other devices would trigger explosions, a law enforcement official told Reuters.

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