By Lawrence Hatter, WSU assistant professor of history

A long-running dispute over land use in Oregon escalated into the armed occupation of the federal Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by a “militia” led by the rancher Ammon Bundy on Jan. 2. Bundy and his followers dispute the constitutional right of the U.S. government to manage public lands in Oregon, which was also the cause of a standoff between Ammon’s father, Cliven, and federal officials in southern Nevada in 2014. » More …