John Megan with Malheur refuge law enforcement gives U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Refuge Manager Chad Karges and Deputy Secretary Mike Connor a tour of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on March 21, 2016.
Courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior
U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says the 41-day occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge did not get the support of the local community.
During remarks following a Tuesday speech at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C., Jewell also addressed a 2014 armed standoff in Nevada.
In both cases, armed protesters were demonstrating against the federal management of public lands.
“These are places that can be done in harmony," Jewell said. "That’s where conversations on the ground are taking place between our BLM field offices or wildlife refuges, our national parks, our U.S. Forest Service lands taking part within these communities so that we don’t end up in conflict.”
Jewell said that for every one rancher who might not like the way the system works, there are 1,000 ranchers who work public lands cooperatively with the federal government.
“The situation that occurred in Nevada is an anomaly. It is something that is working its way through the courts right now," she said. "The situation that occurred in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge did not get the support of the local community. The sheriff was against it. The county commissioners were against it. The people were against it."
