NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
A9
Hammond family loses
grazing permits for third time
Permit was reauthorized on
Trump’s last day in office
By Mateusz Perkowski
EO Media Group
Roughly a month after their graz-
ing permit was restored, Oregon’s Ham-
mond family has again lost access to
four federal allotments totaling 26,400
acres.
The U.S. Interior Department has
reversed its decision to re-issue the
Hammonds’ grazing permit after sev-
eral environmental groups filed a law-
suit challenging the decision, claiming
it violated administrative, environmen-
tal and land management laws.
The federal government re-autho-
rized the 10-year grazing permit on Jan.
19, the Trump administration’s final
day in office, after initially announcing
the proposal on Dec. 31.
However, the Interior Department
now says that interested parties weren’t
notified of the proposed re-authoriza-
tion for several days, which means they
didn’t get the required 15 days to file a
protest.
The agency said the rescission isn’t
a “final determination” in the case and
has ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management, which regulates the allot-
ments, to reconsider the decision.
“On remand, the BLM is encour-
aged to initiate any additional processes
and opportunities for public involve-
ment that it may determine appropriate
under applicable law following a care-
ful and considered review of protests,”
the rescission notice said.
In previously re-issuing the grazing
permit, the Interior Department cited
the Hammond family’s historic use and
proximity to the federal property.
Steven Hammond, who operates the
ranch, and his father, Dwight, origi-
nally lost permission to graze the allot-
ments near Diamond in Harney County
in 2014 when the government refused
to renew their permit after they were
criminally charged with setting fires to
rangelands.
The Hammonds were convicted and
completed their initial prison terms, then
ordered back behind bars after the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled they
had to serve five-year mandatory mini-
mum sentences for arson.
Their return to prison in early 2016
sparked protests that culminated in a
month-long stand-off with federal agents
at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Contributed photo
Successor to the .45-70 Government and in the first officially ad-
opted repeating service rifle, the .30-40 or .30 U.S. Army was ad-
opted in the Krag-Jorgensen bolt-action rifle.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
The .30-40 Krag
L
EOMG file photo
Hammond Ranches was recently re-authorized to use grazing allotments in Eastern
Oregon, but an environmental lawsuit has overturned that decision, at least tempo-
rarily.
that attracted national attention.
The ranchers were released early
in 2018 after receiving a full pardon
from former President Donald Trump,
which prompted the Interior Depart-
ment to renew their grazing permit
the following year due to “changed
circumstances.”
However, environmental groups con-
vinced a federal judge to reverse that
decision in 2019 because the grazing per-
mit was renewed contrary to regulations.
The Interior Department then opened
up the grazing allotments to applica-
tions from other ranchers but ultimately
decided to issue a new permit to the
Hammond family.
The Western Watersheds Project,
Oregon Natural Desert Association, Wil-
dearth Guardians and Center for Biolog-
ical Diversity filed another lawsuit seek-
ing to rescind the grazing permit’s most
recent approval.
The environmental plaintiffs argued
the federal government’s decision
involved “rushed, opaque, and highly
unusual public processes” that were
“tainted by political influence and are
not the product of reasoned, lawful deci-
sion-making,” the complaint said.
According to the complaint, the fed-
eral government approved the graz-
ing permit “without opportunities for
public participation required by law”
and wrongly determined the Ham-
monds were more qualified than other
applicants.
The decision also didn’t comply with
land use protections for the sage grouse
and with a statute aimed at conserving
the “long term ecological integrity” of
Steens Mountain in Eastern Oregon, the
complaint said.
Steven Hammond and Alan Schro-
eder, an attorney for the family, were not
available for comment as of press time.
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ove it or hate it, the
“Old Craig” is a truly
unpretentious cartridge
— what you see is what you
get. Successor to the .45-70
Government and in the first
officially adopted repeating
service rifle, the .30-40 or .30
U.S. Army was adopted in
the Krag-Jorgensen bolt-ac-
tion rifle.
Its curious Norwegian
design came in two versions,
a carbine with a 22-inch bar-
rel, for cavalry and officers,
and a full-length rifle, fea-
turing a 30-inch barrel for
the infantry. Unlike the .45-
70, which employed differ-
ent loads depending upon
whether one used a rifle or
a carbine, all Krag users
employed a 220-grain round
nose load utilizing smokeless
powder. Sadly, it was born a
bit too late, and was obsolete
nearly upon arrival. Against
the higher velocity bullets
fired from the 7mm Mauser in
Cuba, Army Ordinance offi-
cers were quickly directed to
find a replacement.
Although the Krag was
replaced as the standard issue
rifle and cartridge for our
armed forces in 1903 and
again in 1906, it saw limited
use clear on up to World War
Two in the hands of guards
and military police. Many
when finding out they could
buy a surplus Krag rifle for
pennies on the dollar of what
they would have to spend for
a factory sporting rifle were
easily sold a .30-40 for their
hunting needs. Some even
used theirs for match shoot-
ing, preferring its lighter
recoil to that of the .30-06 or
the .300 H&H Magnum.
A fella that I went to
school with in Spray killed
his first elk with a .30-40
Krag. Today it sees little
action compared to the other
guns in his collection, but that
rifle will always have been his
very first.
My own
great-grand-
father
owned no
other cen-
terfire rifles,
Dale Valade
only his
.30-40.
My father reflects fondly of
their forays together from his
childhood, the old Krag being
the instrument of filling Great
Grampa’s freezer time and
again.
Today the Krag barely
holds on, appealing mostly
to lovers of vintage mili-
tary rifles or recipients of
hand-me-down family hunt-
ing rifles. Most of these hand-
me-downs were sporterized
or given custom stocks, bet-
ter sights or even drilled and
tapped for a side mounted
scope. The Krag action itself
was not notably strong, espe-
cially when compared to
Springfield, Enfield or Mauser
bolt actions of the day and
so, therefore, was and is not a
particularly inspiring platform
to use for custom work.
What it does do well is
provide a low-recoil, suffi-
ciently accurate and power-
ful hunting rifle. Bullets of
at least 180 grains will shoot
the best in the longer throats
of these military turned sport-
ers. If you don’t handload,
Remington still loads its tra-
ditional 180-grain Core-lokt,
which to me is about ideal for
an all-around load. Although
it seems to be going the way
of the Dodo, the .30-40 Krag
is a fine rifle cartridge. If
you’re lucky enough to own
one, you probably already
knew that.
Are you a fan? Write to us
at shootingthebreezebme@
gmail.com!
Dale Valade is a local
country gent with a love for
the outdoors, handloading,
hunting and shooting.
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