BLM's grant of grazing permit to Hammond Ranches Inc., issued by then Secretary of the Interior Zinke on his last day in office is revoked

[LucyLou]

@Safiel

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The case name is Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, Plaintiffs v David Bernhardt, Secretary of the Interior, Jeffrey Rose, Burns District Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Land Management, Defendants. Presiding Judge was United States District Judge Michael H. Simon of the District of Oregon.

The Hammonds, as you may remember, were the jackasses who set multiple fires to public lands and it was their imprisonment that set off the Bundy’s and the siege. They may have been pardoned by Donald Trump, but all a pardon is is an act of grace. It may make the punishment go away, it may make the conviction go away, but it does NOT make the past go away.

And the past is quite clear. The Hammonds abused their grazing permits, set fire to public lands and callously endangered human life. They have no business every setting foot on BLM land again, let alone having their damn cattle graze.

But Zinke essentially gave them a permit, no questions asked, in an improper manner, on his last day in office.

In this case, the Judge revoked the grant of the permit under the Administrative Procedures Act for violation of procedure in granting this permit.

While the Hammonds can still apply in the normal way, they must go through the full process, including public comment and with their history, a permit grant is unlikely and any permits available would likely to to ranchers without a negative history.

This case was correctly decided.

Good call. Thanks for posting this.