National Wildlife Refuges

You may have heard on the news that a group of armed individuals has taken over part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The reason they've done this seems to be a dispute over the use of federally-owned lands. If you're curious about what uses the federal government is making of that land, see this site from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that runs the National Wildlife Refuge System:

http://www.fws.gov/refuges/about/

The Malheur Refuge is closed for the time being, but every state has at least one Refuge and Oregon has 17 in addition to Malheur. Feel free to visit one near you, and don't forget your bird-watching binoculars.