The Truth Behind The Malheur Wildlife Refuge Standoff? The Hammond Family And Other Ranchers Had Unconstitutional Atrocities Committed Against Them By Their Government Neighbors

Crimes that would have gotten anyone else (not a government agent) in jail several times over. ANOTHER reason the Constitution forbade the government to own land.

The Hammond family of terrorists.

See the resemblance?

Source: National Post

The abuses and corruptions affecting people like the Hammonds are symptoms of a more encompassing problem.  Government employees (fulltime & elected) have changed their culture from one of service to, and respect for the people, to the role of being masters. On the subject of the land, it is evident that government employees are no longer assisting the people in claiming, using and defending property. Instead, they have become the people’s competitor to the benefits of the land and are willing to use force on those who they erroneously compete against.

The federal government adversely controls over 582,000,000 acres of the western lands, 51% of the entire western land mass. They also have recently begun claiming over 72% of western resources such as the sub-surface minerals, forestry and waters. This is in comparison to 4.29% federally controlled land in the east. - Ammond Bundy

The history of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge

The land sits in Oregon’s Harney Basin, an area first settled at the tail end of the 19th century. While the narrative we are getting in the media depicts the ranchers as despoilers of the land, implacable enemies of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908, the true history of the region shows that the “cowboys” who lived there and ran as many as 300,000 head of cattle were in fact its best defenders. Without them, there would be no Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

As the cattlemen developed an elaborate irrigation system in order to feed their herds, what had been a huge swampland surrounding Malheur Lake was transformed into rolling meadows, wildlife flocked to the area, and it became a favored spot for migratory birds.- The American Conservative by Justin Ramondo, January 7, 2016

Let's see how the “government stewards” have cared for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge

Before the introduction of common carp, a non-native species actually from Eurasia, by the government back in the 1920’s, according to scientists, Malheur Lake once provided expansive habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway.

Now the shallow Malheur Lake is mostly brown, open water, free of the plants that provide food, shelter and nesting grounds for the birds… The lake’s estimated carp population runs in the millions. By the 1950s, carp were recognized as an ecological wrecking crew. - OPB by Devon Schwartz, June 9, 2014

The carp problem has become so large commercial fisherman have been hired to catch them and sell them in areas of the country where there are immigrants who use them as a food source. So Malheur Lake, the central feature of the wildlife refuge, has become nothing more than a for profit fish farm.

Courtesy: Devan Schwartz

Fun fact: Malheur Lake has only 5 to 10 percent of the productive bird habitat it had before carp were introduced.

The other major problem is juniper which spreads profusely. When the ranchers controlled the lands, they regularly removed juniper, which sucks an enormous amount of water, to preserve the grass range lands they created. Once the government took over, they were pressured by enviromentalists to leave juniper spread to discourage cattle grazing. The federal agencies “no use” policies, which have also worked so well to make the millions of acres of forests they manage one big tinder box, encouraged the juniper invasion which has now infested over 6 million acres. The lush grassy fields of the wildlife refuge have reverted back to the dried-up land they once were.

By the 1990’s only the Hammonds and a few other ranchers remained. Realizing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (FWS) and Bureau of Land Management, (BLM), were not going to quit till they were all gone, Susan Hammond did some research trying to figure out why the push, and how they might save themselves. She found a FWS study done in 1975 that detailed how the Malheur Wildlife Refuge was being mismanaged. The previously mentioned “no use” policies of the FWS were causing the wildlife to leave the refuge and move to private property. The study showed that the private property adjacent to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge produced 4 times more ducks and geese than the refuge did. It also showed that the migrating birds were 13 times more likely to land on private property than on the refuge. 

Which makes this statement from Wikipedia very odd:

The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, located in Harney County, was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt, a conservationist.^[8] Located in the Pacific Flyway, and currently encompassing 187,757 acres (760 km²), it is "one of the premiere sites for birds and birding in the U.S.," according to the Audubon Society of Portland.^[9] Tourism, especially birding, injects US$15 million into the local economy annually.

When Susan brought this 1975 study to the attention of the FWS and refuge personnel, they went ballistic and quadrupled down on their efforts to get rid of them.

The Hammond family history in the Harney Basin

Dwight and his wife Susan Hammond purchased their ranch in 1964. It included approximately 6000 acres of private property, 4 grazing rights on public land, a small ranch house and 3 water rights. It is located around 53 miles South of Burns, Oregon.

The partial list of atrocities committed against the Hammonds and other Americans around the Malheur Wildlife Refuge

The despicable, disgusting and illegal abuses of ranchers including the Hammonds who lived on the property they owned around the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (FWS), and the Bureau of Land Management, (BLM), with apparently no reverence or memory it was the rancher’s hard work that created it in the first place. The whole sordid story can be found at Ammond Bundy's blog.

By the 1970’s, nearly all the ranches adjacent to the Blitzen Valley were purchased by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and added to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The Hammond’s property was eventually surrounded.

Since the Hammonds and other ranchers refused to sell to FWS and BLM, they went to plan B.

Ranchers were told that, “grazing was detrimental to wildlife and must be reduced”. 32 out of 53 permits were revoked and many ranchers were forced to leave. Grazing fees were raised significantly for those who were allowed to remain. Refuge personnel took over the irrigation system claiming it as their own.

By 1980, it got really ugly.

The FWS wanted to acquire the ranch lands on the adjacent Silvies Plain. Water was intentionally diverted to bypass the lush grasslands into the rising Malheur Lakes. Within a few years the surface area of the lakes doubled. Thirty-one ranchers on the Silvies plains had their homes, corrals, barns and graze-land washed away and destroyed. Now broke and destroyed, ranchers begged the FWS to buy their useless ranches. When the waters began to recede in 1989, the FWS owned the Silvies Plains after they despicably destroyed American's lives and private property.

In the early 1990’s, the Hammonds filed on a livestock water source and obtained a deed for the water right from the State of Oregon. When the BLM and FWS found out that the Hammonds obtained new water rights near the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge, they challenged the Hammonds right to the water in an Oregon State Circuit Court and lost.

In August 1994, the BLM & FWS began illegally building a fence around the water source that the Oregon court had determined belonged to the Hammonds. The Hammonds tried to stop the building of the fence. The BLM & FWS called the Harney County Sheriff department. Despite the agencies being the ones committing the illegal act of fencing the Hammonds out of water for their cattle, the sheriff arrested Dwight Hammond, and he was charged with "disturbing and interfering with" federal officials or federal contractors (two counts, each a felony). He spent two nights in jail before appearing before a federal magistrate and was released without bail. Apparently, the magistrate found the matter so distasteful he “forgot” set a hearing date.

The FWS restricted access to upper pieces of the Hammond’s private property. They had to go on a road that went through the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge, so FWS barricaded the road and threatened them with arrest. When it was found to actually be a county road that couldn't be blocked, that enraged FWS even more.

Even though Oregon is an open range state, they were again taken to court where a federal judge ruled the federal government doesn’t have to follow state law, so the Hammonds had to fence in their cattle. They couldn't afford the cost of miles of fence so lost the use of half their land.

With losses of land and income, they eventually had to sell the ranch so they could acquire other land to feed their cattle. That land had grazing rights that were also eventually revoked.

The new owner of their original ranch unfortunately died of a heart attack and the Hammonds were able to trade some land and get it back.

In 2001, Steve Hammond called the local fire department to tell them that he was going to be doing a prescribed burn on their ranch. The fire went onto public land and burned 127 acres of grass. The Hammonds put the fire out themselves. They never heard a word from FWS or BLM at that time.

A massive lightning storm in 2006 started multiple fires that joined together. To prevent the fire from destroying their winter range and possibly their home, Steve Hammond performed the astonishing feat of starting a backfire on their private property that saved much of their winter range and home, despite the fires burning thousands of acres in a short period of time. Steve Hammond singlehandedly put out the whole fire!

The next day, government agents went to the Harney County Sheriff's office and accused Dwight and Steven Hammond of arson for starting the backfire. A few days later, a Ranger from Burns District BLM office asked Steven if he would meet him in town for coffee and Steven agreed. When he left the coffee shop, he was arrested by the Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup and BLM Ranger Orr. Sheriff Glerup ordered him to go to the ranch and bring back his father. Both Dwight and Steven were booked on multiple Oregon State charges. The Harney County District Attorney reviewed the evidence and charges and determined that they did not warrant prosecution and dropped all the charges.

The trial of Dwight and Steven Hammond was actually a contest to see how many of their rights could be violated

In 2011, 5 years after the Harney County District Attorney dropped all charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office brought against Dwight and Steven Hammond a prosecutorial slapp suit, which is one in where a defendant is grossly over-charged with the criminal charges brought against them being malicious, abusive, vindictive and strategic. The initial filing was over 6,000 pages long with accusations of alleged crimes spanning over 24 years. A grand jury reduced it to nine charges including arson for the 2001 and 2006 fires, conspiracy, utilization of aerial surveillance to further a “terrorist” act, threatening government officials and trying to destroy government property, including vehicles and fences. They accused them of being “Terrorist” under the Federal Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of death. 

Dwight and Steven's mugshots

Dwight & Steven’s mug shots were all over the news the next week posing them as “Arsonists”. I would walk down the street or go in a store, people I had known for years would take extreme measures to avoid me. - Susan Hammond (Wife & Mother)

Federal Court Judge Michael Hogan and Federal prosecuting attorney, Frank Papagni, apparently were doing their best to deny Dwight and Steven a fair trial. The 6th Amendment was violated repeatedly. The jurors were brought in from Pendleton, almost 200 miles away, certainly not a jury of their peers. Judge Hogan would not allow the jury to hear what punishment could be imposed if convicted as a terrorist under the 1996 act. He repeatedly pressed them for a verdict. The prosecution had six days to present its case. A main witness was Dwight's estranged grandson, thirteen years of age at the time of the fire and now with mental problems, so not credible. He testified Steven told him to set the fire. Neither the judge nor jury found him believable, yet the media picked it up as “proof” Dwight and Steven were terroristic arsonists.

The Hammond’s attorney had one day to present their defense and was severely hampered in presenting favorable evidence. The testimony of witnesses, the reasons for the fires and certified results that land was saved and even improved. Plus, the vindictive and even illegal behavior of government officials against them.

The jury came to a decision on June 22, 2012. They either deadlocked on, or threw out all the charges, except those regarding the fires which the Hammonds admitted to starting. The Hammonds were convicted of terrorism and arson. Felonies, which meant they had to surrender their firearms. Surprisingly, the judge thought five years was “cruel and unusual punishment” according to the 8th Amendment. Dwight got three months and Steven twelve. BLM did not put the fires out. Yet, the Hammonds got a $400,000 fine from the BLM allegedly for property damage, manpower and equipment cost. Failure to pay the fine would result in confiscation of their ranch by the BLM. Even the judge acknowledged property damage amounted to $100.

The Hammonds reported to prison on January 4, 2013, and served their respective sentences.

The government wasn't done because the Hammonds STILL owned their property!

In June 2014 Refuge Manager Chad Karges, BLM Field Manager Rhonda Karges, his wife, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Papagni, who had prosecuted the Hammond case, filed an appeal of the sentencing with the Ninth District Federal Court, demanding that the full sentence of five years mandated by the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act be imposed.

In October 2015, the 9th District Court “resentenced” Dwight and Steven, requiring them each to serve five years minus time already served. The Hammonds were ordered to report back to prison on January 4, 2016.

In a real justice system, the 9th Circuit would have reviewed all the details and noted how the Hammond's rights were violated and overturned the convictions with an apology!

To add insult to injury, the Hammonds were forced to give the BLM the right of first refusal if they ever did sell their ranch in order to pay the balance of the already imposed fine of $400,000. They had already paid about $200,000 with the balance ordered by the end of 2015!

Actual statements from 9th Circuit District Judge Ann Aiken when the Hammonds were hauled back and resentenced

“A minimum sentence mandated by statute is not a suggestion that courts have discretion to disregard,” the appellate court ruled.

Arson is a serious crime, and it is constitutional to punish it with five years in prison, the court added.

Even a fire in a remote area has the potential to spread to more populated areas, threaten local property and residents, or endanger the firefighters called to battle the blaze," the court said.

Apparently “the law” doesn't apply to government agents!

In a previous essay, I detailed how through catastrophic controlled burning mistakes, in New Mexico alone, federal agents burned 235 homes, 917 buildings and 750 structures. Burned 442,221 acres costing over $3 Billion in damages with no consequences or charges!

This disgusting series of events led to the Burns, Oregon public protest that turned into the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Standoff

It is the duty of the courts to be watchful for the Constitutional rights of the citizen and against any stealthy encroachments thereon.

- (Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 635)