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| Dave Duquette with Protect the Harvest, Steve Hammond, Dwight Hammond and Forrest Lucas, founder of Protect the Harvest, |
Dwight and Steven Hammond have returned home to Burns, Ore., after President Donald Trump announced yesterday that he was granting them a full pardon. The two men have served collectively over seven years in prison for the approximately 140 acres of federal land they burned in two separate fires. One fire was a backburn, set to protect their home quarters, the other was a management fire that spilled over and burned a small amount of federal land, but no fences or structures. Upon arrival in Oregon, the two men met with a group of media and supporters. "We received thousands of letters," said Steven, with strong emotion in his voice...The Hammonds look forward to returning to their daily ranch work, and seeking a semblance of normalcy. Friend and neighbor Erin Maupin, Burns, Ore., was with Susie Hammond within a few moments of Susie taking the call from the White House that her husband and son had been pardoned. Maupin said that as of now, the Hammonds' grazing permit still has not been renewed. The family has leased other land and sold cattle in order to continue their ranching enterprise, but those measures are not sustainable in the long term, and they will need their grazing permit renewed in order to remain viable, Maupin said. Supporters are encouraged to continue asking congressmen, representatives and the Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, for a renewal of the Hammonds' grazing permits. The Hammonds have been unable to utilize their BLM permits, as well as about 10,000 acres of their own private property that is unfenced and intermingled with the federal lands...MORE
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