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Audubon manages the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary - but today the villagers held a protest to say they'd had enough. It's an interesting declaration of the right to self-determination -and we got an earful today:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary - and its centerpiece the Lagoon - broad and tranquil - home to all kinds of wildlife even the domesticated kind all overlooked by the nearby visitor's center run by the Audubon Society.

But this morning, the Audubon was the target of villagers who came out to protest against it.

Protestor
"Audubon must go because we run things - things don't run we. Everything you do, you have to do it properly in my village Crooked Tree number one."

They want Audubon out because the villagers feel that the Audubon's conservation efforts are intruding upon a way of life established over two centuries of occupation.

Dudley Tillett, Villager
"They are taking away our livelihood. We used to hunt for a living; we used to hunt armadillo and gibnut ofr a living. I educate my little sisters from that - they have master's degree right now from hunting for armadillo and gibnut. They want to take that away from us."

Steve Anthony - Vice Chmn - Crooked Tree
"After years of trying to live under the laws and rules that Fisheries, Forestry and Audubon set down on us - we can't do it anymore - it's taking away from our livelihood - it's taking away money out on our homes and food out of our children's mouth."

Ava Tillett, Villager
"I am out here to take my village back from Audubon because Audubon is doing so much foolishness in our community keeping our young people down especially my young people. What do they expect - if they stop the young people from fishing and cutting their posts - what will they do? Have them come to rob us?"

They say that Audubon is enforcing wildlife regulations that are outside of its purview:

Steve Anthony - Vice Chmn - Crooked Tree
"When Audubon sees somebody fishing - Audubon who again is a bird entity automatically becomes a fish entity and they start confiscating nets. I don't know if it's on behalf of Fisheries or how that works but they start taking nets and they have taken over 50 nets since they'd been here."

"We can't live like this; If a man sells 20 posts to make money and take that money to buy some food or school uniform for his children - how will they come and take that away. What give Audubon the right to take that away? They can't tell you when you were making $1,000 selling fish - all of a sudden you have to suffice on $15 worth of fish. They can't tell you that and truth be told - the same people who say we are breaking the law to sell fish are the same people who come here to buy fish."

Dudley Tillett
"They are taking our livelihood away from me. They don't want us to fish or hunt. When the tiger came to kill our cows in the pasture - I got a letter from them saying that it was a two foot tiger that eat the cow. When I shoot the tiger, I call them to see that it was not a two foot tiger. It's a tiger and not a two foot man. I will protect my farm with my gun, I told them that."

James Dawson, Villager
"Wildlife means everything that moves in the village - they wants to control. That is what the village is upset about because the village lives off the fish. We have cattle and we have to cut posts for our fence. They want the cattle to stop run - how could you fence the place if you can't cut the posts - 20 posts for personal use - not commercial use. We don't do commercial use here. This is how we live."

And a lot of the anger seems to be that the Audubon does not show up for meetings:

Steve Anthony
"At the meeting last night we as a village were willing to sit down with Audubon and to come up with ways that we could work together but they them not showing up was a complete insult and a slap in the face of the village. The villagers went from a frame of mind of negotiation to a frame of mind of get out."

James Dawson, Villager
"We invited them for meetings and we try to work with them and they don't show up. They look at Crooked Tree people like Crooked Tree people doesn't worth anything."

Now they want self-determination - and self-regulation and are taking a stand for it

James Dawson, Villager
"The people need to live off this village. This village was here before Audubon got here. Audubon is trying to change our living. It's hard for the people to adapt this because we don't have any other way of living in this village. Crooked Tree is an island - this is how we live."

Steve Anthony
"We have a right as a village to say this is what we want and we feel as a village that we could do a much better job of running this sanctuary than Audubon is doing currently. We don't feel like Audubon contribute financially, we don't feel like they contribute enough socially and we don't feel like they contribute enough educationally for what we are receiving from them - 395 a day Jules - do the math. Audubon came here in the 70s, that's 40 plus years ago - times change."

TODAY, the villagers are talking hard and passionate about going for civil disobedience

Steve Anthony
"We will have our civil disobedience - I personally as the vice chairman will not have anything to do with anybody who is hauling net out there - let them haul, I will not stop them. That is not my job. Anyone who is cutting posts - let them cut, that is not my job. These people have to make money. Anybody who comes here and tell; these people to stop fish or to stop cut post -bring some money with you - bring an alternative way for us to make some money, then we will talk."

Dudley Tillett
"They cannot and will not come in our village, I will make a stand - they will not come in my village and take away my livelihood. If they want that - then give me money every week, and then they can start to talk to me. Otherwise than that I don't need to talk to them anymore."

Audubon's manager was out of the office today - but we did speak to one representative who said that the problem is not about Audubon, they say it is a legislative one. That legislation emanates from the Forest Department - which protects forestry resources. The villagers have publicly invited the Audubon to a meeting tomorrow evening in the village.

We could not get an answer from the Audubon rep today on whether they would be attending.