Oregon federal juries infamously found the Ryan and Ammon Bundy innocent of their role in the armed occupation of Malheur Wildlife Refuge,
{14.02.17} but other members of the rogue family were convicted of arson on federal property. Jurors heard evidence that Steven Bundy handed out matches to his hunting party asking that they set the range on fire. The fire put 139 acres ablaze. Dwight and Steven Bundy served a combined sentence of 18 months. Both received a presidential pardon in 2018. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke, a friend of the free range
radicals, order reinstatement of their grazing privileges on public lands, overriding BLM recommendations to cancel the permits for their “unsatisfactory record of performance.”
A federal judge agreed with conservationists who brought suit against the decision and issued a temporary injunction against the permits. Secretary Zinke decided to issue the permits to the Bundys without environmental review or public comment. The allotments in issue contain important habitat for the greater sage grouse and redband trout. Grazing on one of the allotments, Mud Creek, was scheduled to occur later this week. Grazing in June impacts nesting and survival chances of newly hatched grouse chicks. Favored foods of prelaying and brood-rearing hens in Oregon are common dandelion, goatsbeard, western yarrow, prickly lettuce, and sego lily. Chicks consume primarily insects for their first few weeks. Redband trout are disturbed when cattle create erosion and muddy streams. The conservation groups said Zinke's decision misinterpreted the pardon granted by Donald 'Duck' to the
scofflaw family of ranchers, and did not take into consideration Oregon's amended sage grouse management plan. One conservationist said that the decision to issue a temporary stay demonstrates that the regime "shouldn’t be allowed to engage in this
blatant political interference". Grazing permits are supposed to be assessed for environmental impact before granting. The land in question has not been grazed in five years, so it provides sage grouse with a much needed reprieve from the harmful impacts of cows grazing on public lands.
