A3
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2019
Ranchers whose case sparked standoff get grazing rights back
“We’ve been given direc-
tion,” said Jeff Rose, the
Burns district manager for
the BLM. “We’re just going
to work with the Hammonds
to make it work. What we do
in Harney County is fi gure it
out and make it happen.”
Suzy
Hammond,
Dwight’s wife and Steven’s
mother, said her family is
grateful .
“We’re very appreciative
of the industry people who
have worked really long and
hard in order to make things
By CONRAD WILSON
Oregon Public Broadcasting
As one of his last acts in
offi ce, ousted U.S. Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke signed
off on returning grazing
rights to the eastern Oregon
ranchers whose prison sen-
tences led to a 2016 stand-
off at the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge.
Convicted
arsonists
Dwight and Steven Ham-
mond lost their grazing per-
mits after they were sen-
tenced on federal charges for
igniting fi res on public lands.
But President Donald
Trump pardoned the ranch-
ers last year.
Zinke’s order grants the
Hammonds, a long-stand-
ing pillar of the Harney
County ranching commu-
nity, a return of their 26,000
acres of federal land to graze
cattle.
Zinke cited the pardon as
part of his reason for restor-
ing the Hammonds’ permit.
“I fi nd that the par-
dons constitute unique and
important changed cir-
cumstances since the BLM
(Bureau of Land Manage-
ment) made its decision,” he
wrote.
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer
Members of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters stand
guard in 2016 near Burns.
During the 2012 trial
of the Hammonds, jurors
were told that Steven Ham-
mond handed out matches to
members of a hunting party
he was with and told them to
light and drop the matches
on the ground, “because
they were going to ‘light
up the whole country on
fi re,’” according to a 2015
press release from the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Combined, the Ham-
monds
served
around
SALEM — Oregon
Health Authority offi cials
said Tuesday they have
recovered about $42 mil-
lion the agency overpaid
to organizations that coor-
dinate Medicaid benefi ts
for as many as 1 million
residents.
Offi cials repaid the
money owed to the fed-
eral government, health
authority spokesman Robb
Cowie said, the Statesman
Journal reported.
This comes after a state
Senate Republican from
Keizer revealed a proposal
Monday for the state to
demand the money back.
State Sen. Kim Thatcher’s
proposal would require the
health authority to recover
all overpayments to coor-
dinated care organizations
within 60 days of the bill’s
passage.
Thatcher’s spokesman,
Jonathan Lockwood, said
Tuesday they want more
answers from the health
authority regarding when
and whether the bills were
paid back before decid-
ing whether to proceed
with Thatcher’s legislative
concept.
The issue dates back to
late 2017, when an Oregon
Secretary of State audit
found the health author-
ity could have avoided
spending an estimated $76
million on patients who
were members of coordi-
nated care organizations
but may have been ineligi-
ble for coverage under the
Oregon Health Plan, also
known as the state’s Med-
icaid program. The esti-
mate included about $17
million in state money.
However, the over-
payment fi gure ended up
being about $42 million,
Cowie said.
Thatcher’s
proposal
was designed to get coor-
dinated care organizations
to pay back the money.
“We need to know why
this has been allowed to
happen and how we can
prevent it from ever hap-
pening again,” she said in
a statement. “Every dol-
lar thrown away is a dol-
lar robbed from taxpayers
that is not spent on prom-
ised health care for those
most in need.”
The legislative move
comes after the Oregon
Health Authority opened
the application period for
coordinated care orga-
nizations that want to
serve Oregon Health Plan
patients from 2020 to
2024.
Patrick Allen, the health
authority’s director, said
last week the contracts
“will shape the next fi ve
years of care that 1 million
Oregonians rely on.”
The 1 million fi g-
ure is disputed, however.
State auditors in 2017
found that only about
800,000 patients are cov-
ered through coordinated
care organizations. That’s
because certain Medic-
aid users, including tribal
members, don’t have to
enroll in coordinated care
organizations, according
to the audit.
Daniel Elliott Benefit
Thank You!
PROFESSIONAL
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Associated Press
In 2016, Ammon Bundy and
other anti-government activ-
ists seized the wildlife ref-
uge in a standoff that lasted
41 days as a response to the
Hammonds’ return to prison.
While Zinke’s order
was signed weeks ago, it
only came to the attention
of the local fi eld offi ce in
Burns on Monday, the fi rst
day the federal government
had reopened following a
35-day partial government
shutdown.
Consult a
ASTORIA
TRANSIT CENTER
Oregon Health Authority
says $42 million in
overpayments recovered
18 months in jail for the
charges. But the Justice
Department appealed the
case, saying the men should
each have served the fed-
eral mandatory minimum
sentence of fi ve years for
destroying public property,
meaning the land.
Many Harney County
ranchers believed the Ham-
monds when they testifi ed
that those fi res were to pro-
tect their land from invasive
species and other wildfi res.
Wow what an incredible turnout! Words can’t
express how grateful Dan and I are for everyone who
attended the benefit and made a donation. Your kind
words and generosity have truly helped during this
difficult time. We are so fortunate to live in such a
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Thank You,
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Q: Does Medicare
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Dan and I would like to thank all the local
businesses who donated items for the silent auction
and raffle. There were too many to list! Your
generosity helped make it an amazing evening of
giving and support.
Thank you to Cash and Carry, Seaside Golf Course
and the American Legion for donating the food and
supplies and hosting the event.
be right,” she said.
She added that the details
of putting her family’s cat-
tle back on the land haven’t
been worked out yet.
“I don’t know if you’ve
worked with the government
before, but until you see it in
black and white sometimes
it doesn’t happen,” she said.
Hammond said it would
mark a big change for the
ranch if it happens.
“We’ve been running a
ranch that’s half there,” she
said.
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