This one map will help you understand the Oregon militia standoff

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In the latest dustup of a longtime dispute between the federal government and local ranchers over ownership and control of the American west’s vast expanses, a group of armed, white men, occupied a federal building in Burns, Ore., on Sunday night in what appears to be a largely symbolic act.

“We will be here for as long as it takes,” Ryan Payne, one of the protestors, told the New York Times. “People have talked about returning land to the people for a long time. Finally, someone is making an effort in that direction.”

But how much land does the federal government actually own? In the Western U.S., it turns out, a lot.

And here’s a bigger map:

Of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States, the federal government owns about 28%, according to the Times.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.

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