The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a proposed decision to allow American Prairie to proceed with their plan to convert cattle grazing allotments to graze bison across 63,500 acres of public lands in Montana.
Under the proposal, American Prairie, which recently changed its name from American Prairie Reserve, will be able to graze bison on six of the seven allotments they requested in Phillips County, MT. The allotments currently allow close to 8,000 animal unit months (AUMs).
“We are extremely pleased with this decision,” said Pete Geddes, vice president and chief external relations officer for American Prairie. “It allows us to exercise our legal grazing privileges to sustainably grow our conservation herd of bison, continue good stewardship of the land and create more opportunities for visitors to experience Montana’s prairie lands and wildlife.”
Although American Prairie asked to graze bison on seven allotments, one common allotment will remain approved for cattle-only grazing. Seasonal grazing will be allowed on four of the allotments, and year-round grazing will be permitted on three allotments—two of which had been previously authorized for year-round bison grazing. There will be no change in AUMs on any of the allotments, and the majority of internal fencing on BLM lands will remain intact.
“American Prairie’s proposal generated significant public interest and opinions, both opposing and in favor of their request,” said Mark Albers, BLM North Central Montana district manager. “We made sure interested publics had an opportunity to review and provide comment at each key stage of the (National Environmental Policy Act) process, and we received thousands of comments.”
American Prairie estimates the decision will allow them to grow their herd of bison from 813 animals to 1,000 animals by 2025.
Scott Heidebrink, director of bison restoration for American Prairie, said any bison grazing on BLM allotments will comply with a disease management program approved by Phillips County officials in 2020.
“The health of our bison herd is just as important to us as the health of the regional livestock industry,” Heidebrink said. “We will continue to collaborate with Phillips County through our expansive disease management program and by sharing management information with our neighbors and local officials.”
The group also said they modified their application in 2019 based on discussions with local cattle producers to “better reflect conditions on the ground,” and the application was vetted and modified by hunters, economists, biologists, land managers and thousands of people who care about wildlife and public lands.
“We understand that not everyone agrees with allowing bison grazing on public lands, but the BLM’s decision makes it clear that our proposal is based on sound science and will benefit wildlife, the rangeland and riparian areas,” Geddes said.
The full environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact are available on BLM’s planning website, eplanning.blm.gov, by searching for “American Prairie Reserve.”
Reactions
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) denounced BLM’s decision.
“In addition to an unacceptable disregard for animal and rangeland health, this decision fails to address the long-standing, science-based concerns raised by Montana ranchers, land managers and conservation experts,” said Executive Director of PLC and NCBA Natural Resources Kaitlynn Glover.
“This decision poses clear threats to rangeland and riparian ecosystems and is in direct conflict with the agency’s mandated responsibility to uphold multiple use.”
The industry groups said bison follow different grazing patterns and behaviors than cattle, and the decision would alter the grazing authorizations and seasons of use on the six allotments. If the decision is finalized, the conversion will result in land degradation and undermine the stewardship of existing grazing permittees, the groups said. They also called into question the legality of the conversion under existing federal grazing law.
BLM’s proposed decision is followed by a 15-day protest period. Once BLM reviews any substantive protests, they will issue a final grazing decision, which will then kick off a 30-day appeal period.
Montana Sen. Steve Daines (R) and Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-At large) wrote to Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning and requested to extend the protest period by 75 days.
“Due to the broad interest in the proposed change of use, which would affect over 100,000 acres, we urge you to extend the protest and appeal period to give the public and interested parties sufficient time to review and answer BLM’s revised EA and Public Comment Report,” the letter read. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
