11-year-old student asks Bundy what he’s trying to accomplish in Oregon standoff

BURNS, Ore. — Eleven-year-old Monte Kingen made his way with his parents to the standoff where protesters are staying put at the headquarters of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon. Monte's goal: interview Ryan Bundy about why he's there for a school newspaper report.

Bundy, the son of Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy, gave the interview Thursday as reporters crowded in to catch every word. Up the road, visitors, including a rancher and her 13-year-old daughter who live 10 miles east of the refuge, warmed themselves by a fire.

To be sure, many locals, most notably Harney County Sheriff David Ward, want the self-styled armed militia people, protesters and others to go home peacefully before someone gets hurt. Many of them aired concerns at a community meeting the night before, vowing to stand with their sheriff if he goes out to the refuge and asks the group to leave.

But Harney County is a friendly enough place that even outsiders holed up at a wildlife refuge can attract locals and ranchers who venture out, whether for curiosity, to show support, or simply to see why their quiet rural region of 7,000 souls has become a national news story. The story started Saturday when Ryan Bundy and his brother Ammon Bundy, along with protesters, began occupying the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, 32 miles south of Burns, the county seat.

Monte, a sixth-grader at Fields School in southern Harney County, asked Bundy about ranching in Southern Nevada, and what he's trying to accomplish.

Bundy told Monte he wants to "help establish some rights and help you guys out ... Our family wants to help your family out."

For Bundy, that means putting Western lands in control of the states and counties instead of the federal government.

The Bundys were involved in an armed standoff with federal agents in Southern Nevada in April 2014. The agents rounded up Cliven Bundy's cattle after he refused to pay grazing fees for using federal public lands. The agents released the cattle to Bundy to end the standoff, and no shots were fired. The cattle still graze freely on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management.

Ryan Bundy told Monte and his family that they need the ability to ranch without interference from the feds.

"We hope to make it where you guys can ranch without the intrusion of the federal government," Bundy said. "We want to be able to see you guys be free."

Bundy acknowledged he can't do everything for Harney County on his own.

"I think that pretty much everybody's listening right now, and I'll tell you that we can't do it for you," Bundy told him. "You guys are going to have to decide that you want your freedoms. We'll help you along, but you guys are going to have to be the ones that make the difference."

The occupation started last weekend after a peaceful march in Burns in support of Oregon ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr. and son Steven Hammond.

A jury convicted the Hammonds in 2012 of starting fires on public lands, burning about 140 acres. Federal prosecutors said the fires were set to cover up poaching. The Hammonds, who turned themselves in Monday to start five-year federal prison sentences, said the fires were set to protect their property from invasive plants and wildfires. The Hammonds' attorney has said the protesters don't speak for his clients.

Bundy and Ward had a face-to-face meeting Thursday, when the sheriff sought a peaceful resolution and encouraged the protesters to leave.

Bundy and his supporters, some of whom are armed, have said they don't want violence but are staying put.

Joe Kingen, Monte's father, isn't sure what will come of Bundy's efforts at the wildlife refuge. But he said the situation sheds much needed attention on the plight of Western ranchers who are continually squeezed by regulations such as grazing restrictions because of the sage grouse. The ground-dwelling bird that inhabits Nevada, Oregon and other Western states, was kept off the endangered species list in 2015 largely because of moves by states to protect its habitat.

"I think it's good because we needed a voice," he said. "We needed the media. Otherwise this would stay localized, and I don't think it would have ever went anywhere. Whether it does go further than this, I don't know."

Kristie Davis, 44, a rancher in Harney County, said she was a "little bit hesitant" at first, but became more comfortable after meeting Ammon Bundy and others at the refuge.

"I came up here and I met them and talked to Ammon and everybody," she said. "And like everybody, I may not approve their tactics but there was no hostilities, there was no armed forces up here threatening or anything like that. So yeah, I'm all for it."

Asked what she hopes will come from the situation, she said: "I hope there's an eye on us that says, you know, we're not going to be pushed around no more, where we can feel free to run old Bessie back on the back pasture without any repercussions."

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1