The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is proposing a plan that could eventually allow the ranchers whose prison sentences sparked a standoff at the 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to resume grazing cattle on federal lands – but that’s not certain.

The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to issue one or more new 10-year grazing permits for federal allotments near Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon.

Two nonprofits, Western Watersheds Project and Oregon Natural Desert Association, are formally protesting the agency’s decision to open up this land. They argue that if the government reopens the land for grazing, it could undo years of recovery and further harm ecologically sensitive soils and wildlife habitat.

Dwight and Steven Hammond once had grazing privileges here, but the BLM declined to renew the Hammonds’ grazing permit in 2014, after the father-son duo was convicted of setting fire to federal lands.

BLM grazing permits are 10-year privileges to run livestock on federal lands.

That conviction became a rallying cry two years later, when anti-government militants took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and occupied it for 41 days.

The land near Steens Mountain has sat mostly empty since then, with some grazing in 2019.

The Hammonds have tried and failed to regain their grazing rights, which cover roughly 26,000 acres of public land across four allotments that bump up to the Steens Mountain Wilderness area.

Dwight Hammond told the Oregonian/OregonLive that his family would likely submit a permit to graze the land. He said the family has been unable to use their private lands because they are adjacent to federal lands and are not fenced.

OPB was unable to get a hold of the Hammonds before this article was published.

President Donald Trump pardoned the Hammonds, clearing their arson convictions, in 2018. The following year, the administration restored the Hammonds’ grazing rights, but then, a federal judge rejected that decision.

Then, in January 2021, former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt reinstated the Hammonds’ permit right before Trump left office. The Biden administration rescinded it a month later.

And now, the BLM is again proposing to open the land back up for grazing following a years-long environmental impacts review process.

“The BLM is moving forward now because grazing permits for these allotments have expired, requiring the agency to complete environmental review and make new long-term management decisions,” said Tara Thissell, a public affairs specialist with the Bureau of Land Management Burns District office.

Thissell said the agency’s environmental impact statement only analyzes land conditions, alternatives, and potential environmental effects. It does not choose who gets a permit to graze the land – that’s a separate process.

Legally, the agency must wait for an application to come in before it can evaluate the history or compliance of that applicant.

The nearby Steens Mountain Wilderness is a protected area that serves as habitat for wildlife such as the greater sage grouse, bighorn sheep and pronghorns.

“Livestock grazing is ecologically incompatible with the dry arid landscapes of the West, and this area around Steens Mountain is no different,” said Adam Bronstein, the Oregon director with the Western Watersheds Project. “There’s sage grouse habitat out there. There’s antelope and mule deer. It’s a very fragile ecosystem.”

Bronstein said the agency often fails to apply enough scrutiny to the environmental consequences of its decisions, and this case is no different.

He pointed to provisions in the agency’s environmental impact statement that would allow more cattle on the land and also allow it to issue more temporary grazing permits during years where there is more grass.

“The agency’s environmental analysis for this project is written to paper over the harmful and deleterious effects from livestock grazing in one of the most biologically rich and beloved areas of Oregon’s high desert,” he said.

Bronstein added the federal government does not need to allow grazing on that land, and could manage the site differently.

The plan is currently in the administrative review phase.

The timing of the agency’s final decision depends on the “number and complexity of any protests received and how they are resolved,” Thissell said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/24/bureau-of-land-management-propose-opening-federal-land-once-grazed-by-hammonds/