According to the most recent statistics, attacks against federal range and forest workers have increased dramatically over the past year.According to PEER, an organization which keeps track of incidents of violence and threats of violence against environmental stewards, violence against employees of the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) increased sharply between 2014 and 2015.According to a press release dated May 31, 2016:Reported incidents nearly doubled (87% increase) on rangelands overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and increased by more than half (60%) on national forests.The organization has maintained a database to track incidents of violence against federal resource employees since the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.PEER tracks incidents targeting a wide range of agencies employees.According to the press release, threats and assaults against the U.S. Forest Service increased in 2015, with the number of reported incidents rising from 97 to 155.Incidents involving The National Park Service and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration also rose last year.Executive Director Jeff Ruch warns that Security is a rising concern for scientists and other specialists working in the remote Western outposts. PEER notes that the greatest increase in violent incidents involved the BLM.The District Sentinel points out that the reporting period occurred between  two high-profile acts of aggression against federal land officers by domestic extremists: the Bundy Ranch standoff, in 2014, and the armed takeover of Oregon s Malheur Wildlife Refuge, at the beginning of 2016. In the press release Ruch warns that right-wing militia groups present a serious public safety threat,  especially on federal lands in the Sagebrush West. PEER s stated mission is to protect public employees who protect our lands.According to their website:The U.S. Justice Department no longer systematically tracks assaults on federal employees. A reporting requirement for such incidents enacted after the Oklahoma City bombing was repealed in 2002 after DOJ complained that collecting this data was cumbersome.Ruch says he hopes that  By studying the patterns of these events perhaps managers can begin to defuse or prevent confrontations over federal lands. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons 