Sec. Jewell in Burns: 'This Land Belongs To All Americans'

"BURNS, Ore. -- Harney County, infamous now for enduring a 41-day occupation at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, may find itself back in the spotlight soon and this time it will be the government's doing.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell concluded a day of tours and meetings in the Burns area Monday by declaring she intends to help trumpet a success that got overshadowed by acts of the armed protesters who took over the reserve Jan. 2.

The story, she said, involves environmentalists, government, ranchers and "a disaster averted."

They worked together under the brand of the High Desert Partnership to protect the greater sage grouse while avoiding crippling federal regulation that could have upended ranching and logging in a weak economic region, she said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive."

Les Zaitz reports for the Portland Oregonian March 21, 2016.