Standoff supporters asked to send supplies

Associated Press

BURNS, Ore.

The occupation of a national wildlife area by a small, armed group upset over federal land policies stretched into its second week as the mother of the group’s leader asked supporters to send supplies – everything from warm blankets to coffee creamer.

The group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon’s high desert country Jan. 2 planned no media briefings. It was quiet at the entrance to the refuge Sunday.

The leader of the occupation, Ammon Bundy, repeatedly has rejected calls to leave buildings at the refuge despite pleas from the county sheriff, from many local residents and from Oregon’s governor, among others. He has said the group will leave when there is a plan to transfer control of federal land to locals.

So far, the authorities have not moved in to remove Bundy’s group. Ammon Bundy is the son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 Nevada standoff with the government over grazing rights.

On Saturday, Ammon Bundy’s mother, Carol Bundy, sent an email to supporters asking them to send her son’s group supplies from a list of more than 80 items.

The standoff is the latest flare up of tensions over federal management of Western lands.

The federal government manages most of the land in many Western states, including 53 percent of Oregon.