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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Malheur price tag: 3.3M & counting

In this Feb. 11, 2016, Oregonian file photo, a man wave American flag from atop a car at the Narrows roadblock, near Burns, Ore. The last four occupiers of a Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon surrendered Thursday. The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the wildlife refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. (Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian via AP)
In this Feb. 11, 2016, Oregonian file photo, a man wave American flag from atop a car at the Narrows roadblock, near Burns, Ore. The last four occupiers of a Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon surrendered Thursday. The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the wildlife refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. (Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian via AP)

The 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge cost taxpayers at least $3.3 million to cover the massive police response, a week of shuttered schools and a long list of supplies ranging from food to flashlight batteries, according to an Oregonian/OregonLive analysis of public and tribal budgets. The total will certainly grow. The amount doesn't include any figures from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which operates the 187,700-acre bird sanctuary seized Jan. 2 by armed militants. The FBI, still in the midst of a criminal investigation, announced that it turned over control of the refuge to the Fish & Wildlife Service late Tuesday afternoon/Luke Hammill, Oregonian. More here.



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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