Groups representing Oregon farmers and ranchers spoke against the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge while supporting the ranching family whose legal woes sparked protests, said KGW-TV in Portland. Ranchers Dwight and Steve Hammond were convicted under an anti-terrorism law for arson for fires that started on or spread to federal grazing land. They reported to prison and said they will seek clemency.
“The federal government has done a gross injustice to Dwight and Steven Hammond, which has severely damaged the long-term trust and cooperation that ranchers, foresters, and recreationists have had with BLM,” said Barry Bushue, president of the Oregon Farm Bureau. “However, the illegal activity of so-called militia groups only harms the Hammonds and the rest of the community because it diverts public attention and scrutiny away from the injustice that the federal government perpetrated on this Oregon family.” The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association said it does not support “illegal activity taken against the government but has, and will, continue to support the Hammonds via avenues that are in accordance with the law.”
Bushue, vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, is one of four state presidents running for president of the 6-million-member group, which opens its annual convention on Sunday. “The Hammonds have been long-time Farm Bureau members. They even served on our board. These are people who have been persecuted beyond belief by an overzealous federal agency,” Bushue told DTN. “As part of Farm Bureau’s delegate session, the Oregon and Utah Farm Bureau delegates will bring forward a resolution pushing to prevent ranchers who lease federal lands from facing such stiff criminal punishment,” said DTN.
The analytical website FiveThirtyEight cited a report by the Center for Biological Diversity that says federal grazing fees are a small fraction of rental rates charged by private landowners for grassland. BLM “fees are set at a flat, national rate and can’t be adjusted to match demand in local markets. As a result, in 2014, grazing fees covered only 15 percent of the bureau’s costs to maintain grazing lands.”