libertyjam
05-20-2016, 10:14 AM
The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association sent letters this week to congressional delegates, the U.S. Attorney General’s office and the South Dakota Attorney General’s office questioning what they call “egregiously unbalanced response of federal land management agencies” and supporting the claims South Dakota ranchers made for compensation after the 2013 Pautre Fire burned nearly 10,000 acres of federal and private land.
“There is a big double standard being applied in these government land agencies,” said Stockgrowers President Bill Kluck. “We cannot support the use of terrorism laws against a family ranch while forest service staff are just allowed to go about their day. We’re not questioning who set these fires, but we’re very worried about how the law is being used.”
http://i0.wp.com/www.lemmonleader.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pautre-map.jpg?resize=382%2C555The 2013 Pautre Fire in South Dakota burned over 10,000 acres, 3,000 of which was federally owned land and the rest was privately owned land. The U.S. Forest Service has refused to pay any damages and no employees have been charged with wrongdoing. Private landowners and ranchers affected by the blaze filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service last week after their claims for damage compensation were denied. The U.S. Forest Service ruled that the agency was not responsible for damages even though they intentionally set the fire, against recommendations from local ranchers and weather forecasters.
In the letter, President of the Association, Bill Kluck stated, “The kind of unchecked decision-making authority and lack of accountability from federal land management agencies as seen in the Pautre Fire, can and will be applied to other situations and likely at the expense of independent livestock producers and private property owners.”
SD Stockgrowers drew comparison to current situation in Oregon where a father and son have been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after a prescribed burn on their private property burned less than 140 acres of federal property. The family is required to pay $400,000 in damages and was prosecuted under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which carries a minimum 5-year sentence.
“SD Stockgrowers Association supports full compensation to the ranchers who were harmed by the Pautre Fire, and believe that liability should be applied to the U.S. Forest Service the way the Hammond’s were held liable for setting that fire.”
“South Dakota Stockgrowers Association is very concerned about the lack of accountability and responsibility being applied to federal agencies in one case while private individuals are held to a much higher, and completely different level of responsibility in the other,” said Kluck.
“We are asking that our congressional delegates, the South Dakota Attorney General and U.S. Attorney’s office take a look at these cases to see how we can correct this injustice to the Hammond family and use their case to make sure that our South Dakota ranchers are able to hold the Forest Service accountable and liable for their actions on the Pautre Fire.”
~~~~~~~~~An article in The Rapid City Journal (http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/ranchers-blame-forest-service-for-fire-that-devastates-acres-in/article_fc351a55-cba7-5b40-8ada-69b46e876792.html) has more information about the impacts of the fire on the ranchers. Privately owned grazing, hay stacks, and miles of fencing were damaged or destroyed during the ranchers’ calving season. Here is an excerpt:
Laurie Casper, 36, said the fire destroyed 95 percent of her family’s farmland, which is more than 1,000 acres.
“We lost all of our calving pasture, we lost our summer grazing, we lost our fall grazing, we lost 100 percent of our alfalfa— which we cut for hay bales in order to feed the cattle this oncoming winter— all that’s completely gone,” she said. “And there’s just miles and miles of fences that are completely gone.”
Casper’s family didn’t sleep on Wednesday night. The fire came at the worst time for them and other ranchers – the middle of calving season. While Casper’s family found refuge for their cattle in a neighbor’s cornfield, her family is now worried about their herd’s health. On Thursday morning, their cattle wouldn’t clean their calves because they smelled like smoke. They also fear their livestock may suffer respiratory issues after inhaling dust and smoke.
The fire happened around April 3, 2013 when a USFS controlled burn got out of hand, burning 7000 acres of personal property. On April 8th, Senator John Thune (http://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=d26cdcc2-1385-4c10-accd-003e376d64ad)(R-S.D.) sent a letter to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, calling for the agency to take immediate action to reimburse landowners for the recent grassland fire in Perkins County. South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem sent a similar letter with an additional request to halt controlled burns until the weather improved.
Yet here we are in January of 2016 and the ranchers still have not received any compensation from the USFS and the BLM. The hypocrisy of this compared to the fines and jail sentences heaped on the Hammonds is absolutely outrageous. They dubbed the two Hammond men as terrorists, when in comparison they burned up far more land than the Hammonds did, who by the way, had to do a controlled burn to stop another fire started by the BLM that got out of hand. I think we know who the real terrorists are here.
Rep. Louie Gohmert is in charge of oversight on this rogue out-of-control agency and he needs to get busy.
~Kathy
http://hardnoxandfriends.com/2016/01/12/south-dakota-ranchers-question-blm-double-standards/
From NorthernAG.net
“There is a big double standard being applied in these government land agencies,” said Stockgrowers President Bill Kluck. “We cannot support the use of terrorism laws against a family ranch while forest service staff are just allowed to go about their day. We’re not questioning who set these fires, but we’re very worried about how the law is being used.”
http://i0.wp.com/www.lemmonleader.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pautre-map.jpg?resize=382%2C555The 2013 Pautre Fire in South Dakota burned over 10,000 acres, 3,000 of which was federally owned land and the rest was privately owned land. The U.S. Forest Service has refused to pay any damages and no employees have been charged with wrongdoing. Private landowners and ranchers affected by the blaze filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service last week after their claims for damage compensation were denied. The U.S. Forest Service ruled that the agency was not responsible for damages even though they intentionally set the fire, against recommendations from local ranchers and weather forecasters.
In the letter, President of the Association, Bill Kluck stated, “The kind of unchecked decision-making authority and lack of accountability from federal land management agencies as seen in the Pautre Fire, can and will be applied to other situations and likely at the expense of independent livestock producers and private property owners.”
SD Stockgrowers drew comparison to current situation in Oregon where a father and son have been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after a prescribed burn on their private property burned less than 140 acres of federal property. The family is required to pay $400,000 in damages and was prosecuted under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which carries a minimum 5-year sentence.
“SD Stockgrowers Association supports full compensation to the ranchers who were harmed by the Pautre Fire, and believe that liability should be applied to the U.S. Forest Service the way the Hammond’s were held liable for setting that fire.”
“South Dakota Stockgrowers Association is very concerned about the lack of accountability and responsibility being applied to federal agencies in one case while private individuals are held to a much higher, and completely different level of responsibility in the other,” said Kluck.
“We are asking that our congressional delegates, the South Dakota Attorney General and U.S. Attorney’s office take a look at these cases to see how we can correct this injustice to the Hammond family and use their case to make sure that our South Dakota ranchers are able to hold the Forest Service accountable and liable for their actions on the Pautre Fire.”
~~~~~~~~~An article in The Rapid City Journal (http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/ranchers-blame-forest-service-for-fire-that-devastates-acres-in/article_fc351a55-cba7-5b40-8ada-69b46e876792.html) has more information about the impacts of the fire on the ranchers. Privately owned grazing, hay stacks, and miles of fencing were damaged or destroyed during the ranchers’ calving season. Here is an excerpt:
Laurie Casper, 36, said the fire destroyed 95 percent of her family’s farmland, which is more than 1,000 acres.
“We lost all of our calving pasture, we lost our summer grazing, we lost our fall grazing, we lost 100 percent of our alfalfa— which we cut for hay bales in order to feed the cattle this oncoming winter— all that’s completely gone,” she said. “And there’s just miles and miles of fences that are completely gone.”
Casper’s family didn’t sleep on Wednesday night. The fire came at the worst time for them and other ranchers – the middle of calving season. While Casper’s family found refuge for their cattle in a neighbor’s cornfield, her family is now worried about their herd’s health. On Thursday morning, their cattle wouldn’t clean their calves because they smelled like smoke. They also fear their livestock may suffer respiratory issues after inhaling dust and smoke.
The fire happened around April 3, 2013 when a USFS controlled burn got out of hand, burning 7000 acres of personal property. On April 8th, Senator John Thune (http://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=d26cdcc2-1385-4c10-accd-003e376d64ad)(R-S.D.) sent a letter to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, calling for the agency to take immediate action to reimburse landowners for the recent grassland fire in Perkins County. South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem sent a similar letter with an additional request to halt controlled burns until the weather improved.
Yet here we are in January of 2016 and the ranchers still have not received any compensation from the USFS and the BLM. The hypocrisy of this compared to the fines and jail sentences heaped on the Hammonds is absolutely outrageous. They dubbed the two Hammond men as terrorists, when in comparison they burned up far more land than the Hammonds did, who by the way, had to do a controlled burn to stop another fire started by the BLM that got out of hand. I think we know who the real terrorists are here.
Rep. Louie Gohmert is in charge of oversight on this rogue out-of-control agency and he needs to get busy.
~Kathy
http://hardnoxandfriends.com/2016/01/12/south-dakota-ranchers-question-blm-double-standards/
From NorthernAG.net