The leader of a group of armed protesters occupying the headquarters of a USA wildlife refuge in rural southeastern OR on Thursday rejected a sheriff's offer of passage out of the state to end the standoff.

They took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge over the weekend and have showed no signs of leaving.

Bundy replied by attempting to engage Ward in a discussion about the group's grievances, saying, "We're here for the people of Harney County". Bundy said neither had he.

Bundy's group, calling itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, says it wants an inquiry into whether the government is forcing ranchers off their land.

JIM URQUHART/REUTERS Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward met with militia leader Ammon Bundy on Thursday to offer them a safe escort out of Oregon. They said they're doing it to protest the prosecution of father-and-son ranchers who were convicted of setting government-owned land on fire.

"He gave us some things to think about and we're going to think about those, and we'll let you know", Bundy said after the meeting, which lasted less than 10 minutes.

Duane Ehmer rides his horse Hellboy at the occupied Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on the sixth day of the occupation of the federal building in Burns, Oregon on January 7, 2016.

Ammon Bundy and his handful of law-breaking protesters took over the headquarters at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge on Saturday in protest of the prison sentences for two local ranchers.

The Hammonds' plight is just their latest beef between the Bundys and the federal government over land disputes following a standoff in April 2014 over disputed territory and unpaid grazing fees.

Authorities haven't removed the group of roughly two dozen people, some from as far away as Arizona and MI.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday called the occupation of the wildlife refuge "unlawful" and said it had to end.

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is about 30 miles from the small town of Burns, Oregon. And Bundy said he "appreciates" that Ward disagrees with the group's tactics. A small, armed group occupying the wildlife preserve has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands, but critics say the lands are already managed to help everyone from ranchers to recreationalists.

Jon Ritzheimer, a gun ownership activist and a self-described extremist, told KOIN 6 News he was glad to see the community talking about their takeover of the national refuge.

(AP Photo/Manuel Valdes). Members of the Burns Paiute tribe watch a press conference held by their leaders in response to the armed occupation of the nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Burns, Ore., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. A judge later ruled that the terms fell short of minimum sentences requiring them to serve about four more years.