It’s high noon in the American high desert, and the cowboys are gearing up for the fight of their lives. The armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in the far western state of Oregon has highlighted a long and deepening land dispute between rural communities and the federal government in Washington DC, which owns vast tracts of isolated and scenic territory.

Ranchers and farmers say the land should be kept available for their cattle to graze; they say their historic way of life will be doomed otherwise. But other Americans, especially those in cities, want to see federal land conserved and protected from overuse.

For Assignment, Neal Razzell travels to Oregon to see how these differences are fuelling a cultural battle over what it means to be American.

Produced by Michael Gallagher