PUBLIC LANDS -- As he's watched the events unfolding at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge over the past week, David Houghton, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, has been especially struck by the irony of protesters using an American flag obscuring the refuge welcome sign.

American flags fly proudly at all 564 national wildlife refuges, signaling that these places are owned and managed by and for all Americans. Like all national wildlife refuges, Malheur is public land. The sign that is obscured reads “Welcome to Your National Wildlife Refuge”- it is a place for all of us to enjoy and we all benefit from its many natural resources. Only now, armed occupiers restrict the entrance to this public resource...

Read the full text of the open letter, from Houghton, on the National Wildlife Refuge Association site.