Judge considers grazing permits for Hammond ranches

A judge in Portland heard arguments Thursday about whether the U.S. government was right to renew the grazing permits of two ranchers who were pardoned last year by President Donald Trump on an arson conviction for setting fire to federal lands. The Capital Press reports that U.S. District Judge Michael Simon was expected to reach a decision in the long-running case on Friday after hearing arguments from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which granted a 10-year grazing permit Dwight and Steven Hammond after Trump’s pardon. The renewal prompted a coalition of environmental groups to sue. Simon in July limited where the Hammonds could graze their cattle, but let them continue to use other portions of the public allotments for their ranching operation in southeastern Oregon while the environmental groups continued with a legal challenge...MORE