Thursday, February 11, 2016

In the Land of the Free, the Refuge is Freed

   And, the land is free again, meaning the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The land will be returning to public usage after the FBI has been given time to investigate the property to find out if damage has been done to Native American artifacts, and to assess the crime scene.
   Hey, this is no small refuge. In terms of birds, alone, it might offer more varieties (I've heard it has about 250 species and I've heard 320 species) than the Great Salt Lake (which has 250 plus). As much as two-thirds of the Pacific Flyways migratory population has been known to visit Malheur. But, I understand, some times only 5 percent of the flyway's population stops by. We'll have to see if all the guns and militias have scared the birds off (lol). Malheur has been hailed as a nationally-famous mecca for birds.
   Lake Malheur is one of nature's wonders, or so I have heard it said.
   Bald eagles, and loons, and horned larks? Come see them. Want to see a bat? They have them here, 14 different species. And. there are lots of coyotes, and deer and elk and bobcats and lions. (Not sure how close you want to get to those last two.) See bighorn sheep and wild horses. Fishing is forbidden, but the lake is stocked with the rare redband trout, and with shiner, mottled sculpin, longose dace, chub, brown bullhead, sunfish, and others.
   So, if you just want to get out and see nature, see wild animals, Malheur is a good place.
   But, it is more. There is kayaking, and canoeing, camping and hiking.
  It is home to American Indians, maybe 100 Paiutes living there. The refuge has pulled together their historical narratives and offers them to visitors.
   Aye, it would be neat to see Malheur draw more visitors in the aftermath of the occupation.
   (Slight editing and addition to the article made Feb. 12, 2016.)


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