The U.S. Department of the Interior announced it will revoke the grazing permits that allowed American Prairie to manage bison on about 63,000 acres of federal public land in Montana. That decision would affect seven parcels managed by the Phillips County Bureau of Land Management and hinder the organization’s larger goals of conserving large areas of intact grasslands while restoring native grasslands to those landscapes.
Interior’s rationale for yanking the permits, according to the Jan. 16 proposed decision, is that under the Taylor Grazing Act, the BLM can only issue grazing permits for animals managed for “production-oriented” purposes. She argues that American Prairie’s emphasis on conservation runs counter to those goals.
American Prairie CEO Alison Fox criticized that reasoning as both unfair and inconsistent with long-standing grazing practices on Montana’s public lands. She said in a response to the decision that it creates uncertainty, not just for American Prairie — which has grazed bison using federal leases since 2005 — but for all other livestock owners in the West. She added that American Prairie plans to protest the decision and will take further legal action if necessary.
“This is a slippery slope,” Fox said in a shared statement Outdoor life. “When federal agencies begin to change how the rules are applied after the process is complete, it undermines confidence in the system for everyone who relies on public lands. Montana livestock owners deserve clarity, fairness and decisions they can rely on.”
As the largest land mammal in the Americas, bison are uniquely equipped to survive on the prairie. Photo courtesy of Dennis Lingohr / American Prairie
The grazing permits now in limbo were approved by the BLM in 2022 after years of review and public comment. The agency noted in its decision filing that the bison’s feeding habits could lead to habitat improvement there, and that it has granted similar bison grazing permits on BLM lands in Colorado, North Dakota, Wyoming and other western states.
That approval, however, drew intense pushback from industry animal groups and Montana politicians, who saw it as a radical proposal and an attack on the state’s farmers. The same groups challenged the BLM’s approval in court and are now celebrating Interior’s more recent decision — one that was signaled in December when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum used his authority to assume jurisdiction over the long-running legal battle.
“[This] the BLM’s decision is a victory for Montana farmers, our agricultural producers and the rule of law,” Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a news release praising the decision.
At the heart of this dispute are livestock industry concerns about the impact bison could have on traditional grazing operations. American Prairie Public Affairs Director Beth Saboe says those concerns tend to be misplaced, and that the organization has proven over the past 20 years that cows and bison can — and do — coexist on the prairie.
Saboe explains that of the 600,000 acres in Montana that American Prairie manages, more than 500,000 acres are leased back to local ranchers. The vast majority of the organization’s habitat base is public land, and American Prairie’s long-term goal is to unite public and private holdings to establish an expansive conservation preserve that benefits wildlife, farmers, and the American public.
“There are 25 farming families running their cows on those leases and they’re somewhere around 8,000 head of cattle,” says Saboe, who comes from a farming family. “We know this region is very important to the livestock industry and the agricultural economy. What we’re saying is we can be additive. We’re not taking that land out of production.”
American prairie bison are classified, regulated and managed as livestock in Montana. Photo courtesy of Mike Kautz / American Prairie
The organization also disputes Interior’s central argument for revoking the grazing leases, namely that prairie bison are a conservation herd (emphasis added by Interior), and not a herd of domestic animals used for commercial purposes. Saboe says these bison are actually classified and regulated as livestock by the state of Montana, and that “short of sending these animals to market,” they are also managed in the same manner as a production operation. This includes trading the animals with tribes and other organizations and, when possible, donating bison meat to local food banks.
“We’ve also offered public bison harvests, where we give out 20 to 25 tags a year,” Saboe says. The tags are distributed through a lottery system, and successful applicants pay $300 per tag. “So one, they pay for the tag. And two, they get the meat. We’ve also donated numerous harvests to local charities as raffle items. . . . These charities have raised over $150,000 over the last eight years.”
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This would appear to align with Interior’s own definition, included in its recent decision, of animals to be grazed and used for production-oriented purposes: “This would include their use for meat, milk, fiber or other animal products.” And it’s only a fraction of the economic value these herds bring to America’s public landowners. Bison contribute to healthier grasslands, which in turn provide more opportunities for hunters, farmers and other prairie dwellers.
“There aren’t many places left on the planet where intact prairie grasslands have been saved and where this kind of landscape-scale conservation is possible. Montana and this section of the Great Northern Plains is one of them,” Saboe says. “How will people feel knowing that our federal government just said our national mammal can’t graze on our public lands?”