The battle brewing between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the owners of the Sugar Pine Mine in Oregon escalated on April 22 when armed activists staged a protest at the offices of the BLM.

At issue is the Sugar Pine gold mine. The owners of the mine, George Backes and Rick Barclay contend they legally control all of the land and resources within the claim, which they say has been continuously mined since the 1800s. The BLM has said the land belongs to the federal government and the miners have to file a plan of operations if they want to continue working in the area.

"(The miners) have a particular interpretation of the Constitution that has not been recognized by any federal court," BLM spokesman Tom Gorey told the Mail Tribune newspaper.

Mine owners filed an appeal to a federal stop-work order. A spokesman for the miners, Kerby Jackson, confirmed paperwork had been filed to keep officials from "burning or breaking anything" on the property, but gave no more details, Reuters reported.

Rick Barclay summoned guards from a group called Oath Keepers following a stop-work order he received last month after officials said they found equipment on site indicating operations inconsistent with standard mine development requirements.

BLM spokesman Jim Whittington said while the owners have mining rights, the surface rights were ceded to the BLM in 1961 by the then-owners.
The miners say they want to avoid a standoff like last year's fight between Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and the federal government in which the BLM sought to seize cattle because Bundy refused to pay grazing fees. Federal agents ultimately backed down.

Oath Keepers spokeswoman Mary Emerick said more supporters were en route to fill jobs for a long-haul protest, from security to cooking.