Father-son cattle ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, face prison for arson on public land in Oregon’s remote high desert. Claiming government overreach, infamous land-rights agitator Ammon Bundy pressures Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward to intervene on their behalf. When Ward refuses, Bundy and militia-style supporters descend on the frontier community, mounting an intimidation campaign that escalates into an armed takeover of the nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters—the latest chapter in the West’s enduring struggle around land, sovereignty, identity, and belonging.

The region’s volatile past reveals a legacy of conflict across the West. Northern Paiute Natives resist steady encroachment of cattle barons and settlers, resulting in 1879 in a mid-winter forced march of Tribal people to a distant reservation. A small number of survivors returning home face entrenched poverty and discrimination, but a lengthy quest to reinhabit their homeland and gain federal recognition succeeds.

Continued land disputes threaten fragile natural resources, prompting 20th Century federal agencies to reshape the modern public domain, as an emerging environmental movement demands sweeping reforms, widening the urban-rural divide.

The Edward Hines Lumber Company establishes a timber empire in Harney County in 1930, thrusting this struggling rural community into unheard-of prosperity. But new federal environmental policies and market competition shutter the mill in 1980, sparking lasting anti-government sentiment.

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge’s complex past reveals a history of conflict. Malheur’s 1908 creation stems migratory waterfowl slaughter and protects critical wetlands. Later, a 1994 arrest over a refuge water hole traces Dwight Hammond’s history of rebellion, at the pinnacle of modern land-use conflict across the Interior West.

A rare and tenuous alliance between ranchers, conservationists, and federal land management agencies emerges in Harney County, but that trust is now threatened by the ongoing refuge occupation.

Meantime, at the refuge, occupiers face off with public land advocates, while Ammon Bundy’s pitch to dismantle federal agencies deepens local divides. Volatile community meetings elevate fear but also provide much-needed release. Law enforcement eyes a strategy to resolve the lingering standoff.

Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders head to neighboring Grant County to widen support, opening an opportunity for their arrests along an isolated, snowy forest route. Seven are apprehended and occupier LaVoy Finicum is killed by State Police while evading capture. Anger over Finicum’s death explodes during a rally in Burns, as hundreds of locals match occupation supporters in cathartic response.

While most occupiers flee the refuge compound, four holdouts remain for two more weeks, surrendering only after a tense, two-day negotiation with FBI which is livestreamed to 70,000 listeners, ending the 41-day ordeal. Cautious relief envelops the Harney County community and beyond.

Spring welcomes the return of massive numbers of migrating birds—and birders—to the Harney Basin’s now verdant landscape. Regular rhythms of life return. As autumn nears, the historic county fair celebrates abundance and helps repair the deeply wounded community.

Twenty-six occupation defendants indicted on felony charges are pared to 11 after guilty pleas, and two trials are scheduled for fall 2016 and winter 2017.

The first occupation trial spans six weeks. Conspiracy, guns, and the limits of protest are examined. Outside the Portland courthouse, Bundy supporters occupy “Patriot Corner.” A last-minute twist propels the jury toward an unexpected verdict, culminating with Ammon Bundy’s attorney being tased and arrested. Harney County community members respond to the verdicts.

The 2016 local election nets a win for Sheriff Ward, while on the national scene, Donald Trump garners the presidency. The second Bundy trial is viewed through a juror’s eyes, revealing a twist in Ammon Bundy’s testimony.

Summer 2017 in Harney County—the 15,000-strong Rainbow Family of Living Light descends on the Malheur National Forest during their annual gathering, forcing Dave Ward to deal with yet another public land “occupation.”

The next year, President Trump pardons Dwight and Steven Hammond, drawing former refuge occupiers back to Harney County and causing renewed anxieties. Portland protests and January 6, 2021’s escalation of violence challenges an increasingly fractured nation.

Amid deepening national tensions, a model for collaborative conservation in Harney County offers a glimmer of hope and reconciliation across differences.