Cyclists ride along the Crooked River scenic bikeway.

To the handful of loyal followers of their Facebook page, John Stevens and David Stangland are citizen journalists holding accountable the authorities in Crooked River Ranch.

But to members of the ranch’s nine-person board of directors, they’re a pair of deeply conflicted and dishonest wannabes who traffic in negativity.

Stangland and Stevens together produce Ranch Matters, a free online publication similar in many ways to most small-town news outlets. It posts rundowns of grass fires and vandalism and re-posts videos of public meetings and documents like arrest logs.

Stangland, 61, is retired military. Stevens, 70, worked most of his career as a private investigator.

Since 2015, they’ve been a regular presence at the board’s semimonthly meetings. Like more established news outlets, they’ve ruffled feathers.

Stangland and Stevens have posted numerous reports critical of leadership at the ranch, including an effort to build RV dump stations at the ranch’s RV park, reportedly without approval by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

But tensions have increased in recent months, to the point the nonprofit legal aid group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has urged board members to cease “harassing” Stangland and Stevens.

“RCFP is deeply concerned about the obstruction and harassment of my clients’ journalism,” media lawyer Duane Bosworth wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to the board. “From all known facts, the board has fostered, endorsed or perhaps in the rare case, known of but turned a wholly blind eye to wrongful actions against my clients.”

In February, former board member Dave Palmer filed a complaint against Stevens’ private investigator license with the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training concerning Stevens’ involvement with the ranch board.

On April 20, Stevens and Stangland were told to leave the ranch’s golf course while attempting to cover a reported act of vandalism. The course superintendent told them to leave before calling the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Stevens defended his approach, saying a lack of oversight has allowed abuses of power by board members.

“I’m a detail-oriented person, and I don’t let anything slide,” said Stevens. “There’s an arrogance over here, like they’re not a public agency.”

Crooked River Ranch is an unincorporated community of 5,500 located primarily in Jefferson County. It’s the largest homeowners association in Oregon and oversees some traditional functions of government. The board is structured to have three new members each year and board members take no pay.

Carl Harbour, president of the Crooked River Ranch board, said Stevens and Stangland have undermined the public comment process on the ranch through their biased and dishonest reporting. He said he knows people who are afraid to comment on some matters online for fear of triggering an angry response from Stangland and Stevens.

“They’re just not real positive people,” Harbour said. “I’ve never seen them take part in any volunteer work around the ranch.

“Now I know HOAs are not everybody’s favorite thing. But I like the community I live in. I think people should participate in their community.”

Stevens is not allowed to return to the golf course unless he wants to pay for a round of golf, Harbour said.