Now that the 41-day occupation of the Oregon wildlife refuge has come to an end, The Oregonian compiled a preliminary analysis of the standoff’s cost to taxpayers.
The FBI has yet to release the cost of its investigation into the occupation, and The Oregonian did not obtain numbers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But a look at state and local budgets revealed that the standoff at the Oregon wildlife refuge cost taxpayers at least $3.3 million so far, according to The Oregonian. The paper noted that that number will rise.
The Oregon State Police spent $1.2 million maintaining a police presence in Harney County throughout the 41-day occupation and police stationed outside of the county cost an additional $788,500, according to The Oregonian.
Employees for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management who were unable to go to work at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were paid a total of $425,000 during the standoff, according to The Oregonian.
Harney County also spent $522,000 as schools closed for a week and the county brought in a public relations officers to handle media coverage of the standoff, The Oregonian reported.
Read The Oregonian’s full analysis here.
