Protesting the protest

They sang “This Land is Your Land” and held signs that said “Birds Not Bullies!” and “Got Land? Thank an Indian” and “Prison for the Seditionists.”

Tuesday’s “Refuge Rally” at the Federal Building in downtown Eugene, a protest against the armed protesters who have held Eastern Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge hostage since Jan. 2, was one of about a dozen rallies held simultaneously across the Northwest to show support for the 300-square-mile refuge in particular and for public lands in general.

Several hundred people also rallied in Portland, and more than 100 attended a similar protest in front of the Idaho Capitol in Boise, The Associated Press reported.

In Eugene, at least, no counterdemonstrators showed up to voice their support of the Malheur occupiers. Some passing motorists honked their horns in support.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that these public lands are there for generations, as well as the wildlife that depend on them,” said Jared Margolis, a Eugene attorney with the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, at the rally. “These lands are vital for wildlife and as a refuge for imperiled species.”

Brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy, ranchers from Arizona and Nevada, respectively, have led an armed militia at the refuge 30 miles south of Burns, and want the federal government to turn over the land to local control for use by ranchers, loggers, miners and others.

“We stand with the people of Harney County who want the Bundys out of Harney County,” Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson said at Tuesday’s rain-soaked rally, which drew about 150 people. “This is something we can’t tolerate in Oregon. We want them out, and we want them out now!”

The crowd roared its agreement.

“For us as Oregonians, this is a moment to stand up,” Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy told the crowd. “For Americans, for Eugene, for Harney County. For the things we have stood up for for years.

“So, I say what you say: ‘Go home! We love the things that make us truly Oregon. They don’t belong to you — go home!’ ”

The crowd repeated the mayor’s words: “Go home!” they yelled.

The Malheur refuge was created in 1908 by proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt, to protect the habitat for migratory birds and waterfowl. It is a popular site for birding, fishing, hunting and hiking.

Noah Strycker, a professional birder from Eugene who recently broke the world record for the most bird species ever seen, more than 6,000 in one year’s time, spoke about how his first visit to the Malheur refuge, at age 12, influenced his chosen occupation.

“It was a life-changing experience for me,” said Strycker, who estimates that he has visited the refuge 100 times.

He said he even has served as a volunteer there and slept in the “same bunkhouse that’s now occupied by other exotic wildlife.”

“It’s not just for a few people, it’s for all of us,” he said of the refuge.

Margolis said the refuge represents “a crucial stop along the Pacific flyway,” a major north-south path for migratory birds, extending from Alaska to South America. It offers nesting, breeding and resting habitat for hundreds of migratory birds, such as the greater sandhill cranes, as well as habitat for other wildlife, including 58 species of mammals and 12 native fish species, he said.

“We cannot allow the public lands the species rely on to be seized by special interests. The armed terrorists there bent on taking these lands for their own interests don’t represent Oregon. And we’re here to say that. They don’t represent our interests!”

Lacy Sayre, 65, of Springfield came to the rally with a sign that read “My Grandchildren (7th gen. Oregonians) Need Public Land.”

Sayre, a retired locomotive engineer, said he wants the Malheur refuge and other public lands to still be around by the time his grandsons, Hayden, 8, and Jack, 7, are adults.

“They’re stealing from everybody,” Sayre said of the occupiers. “The authorities need to make a move, or the rest of us are going to have to,” Sayre said of the federal government.

The FBI is monitoring the occupation at the refuge but has yet to take any action against the Bundys and the other militants. Many believe the bureau is being careful to avoid a situation in which someone could be shot or killed, or creating a political firestorm by turning the Bundys and their followers into martyrs.

Sayre said the federal government thus far has made “an error of omission. They haven’t done anything. It’s time to move with the appropriate force if necessary, to get those people out of there. Those people are holding the city of Burns and the people of Harney County hostage.”

Shawn Donnille, owner of Mountain Rose Herbs in Eugene, spoke at the Eugene rally and said he moved his business here from Northern California because of the high quality of life.

“I don’t want to do business in a state that is strip-mined and clear-cut,” Donnille said. He urged people to contact the federal Department of Justice and the FBI field office in Portland, to encourage government officials to remove the occupiers.

“They’re the ones who need to know about it,” Donnille said of the Justice Department and FBI.

“Hold them accountable!” a woman in the crowd yelled.

“Yes, hold them accountable,” Margolis told the crowd. “Let’s raise some noise and get these people to go home.”