American Prairie, formerly known as the American Prairie Reserve or APR, hit another milestone this last month. In a short matter of 23 years, the American Prairie just surpassed a half million acres under its management after its latest purchase. Thanks to donations, the American Prairie is methodically acquiring land in north central Montana near the Missouri River and Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge with the goal of creating one of the largest wildlife reserves in the continental U.S.
The latest purchase brings the American Prairie’s land holdings to 527,068 acres, of which 140,552 acres are deeded ground and 386,516 acres are leased public ground. They are well on their way to acquiring 500,000 acres of deeded ground and 3,000,000 acres of public ground to reach their ultimate mission, over 5,000 square miles of grassland. In all, this group has purchased over 35 ranches removing those families from the small communities in this area and having a serious negative impact on the tax base in these areas.
The debate on whether American Prairie should be able to purchase these ranches is a divisive one. I do not blame the 35-plus ranchers who have sold. There are so many factors for a family to decide to put their ranch land on the market. The average age of the American rancher is increasing, and the idea of retiring is ever looming, and most ranchers do not have adequate savings to retire without selling their largest asset. And unfortunately, many do not have the next generation wanting to take over the ranch. I know I am not enlightening the readership of Western Livestock Journal, but the younger generations have been lured off these ranches by opportunities provided in bigger cities and the comforts and conveniences that are not found 120 miles north of Billings, MT. And who can blame these folks for taking advantage of the current market where these ranches are selling for much more than can be financially feasible to be paid for with a momma cow?
I do disagree with the current model of these “nonprofits” purchasing ranches and taking them out of production. According to an article written by Chuck Denowh from the United Property Owners of Montana in the July 7, 2024, Daily Inter Lake, there are many ways that American Prairie is avoiding paying taxes on the hundreds of million of dollars funneling through their coffers. According to Denowh, in 2022 alone, American Prairie reported $63 million in tax-free revenue, and since they are a nonprofit, these contributions lower the tax liability for their donors. That same year they reported $140,000 in earnings from selling “glamping” excursions and an additional $500,000 in lease payments on the fraction of land they are leasing back to local ranchers to serve as “good neighbors.” To top it off, this group also claimed $843,000 in federal tax credits even though they pay nothing in federal income tax. This is truly an unfair advantage when considering their purchase power of these ranches.
Another serious issue I have is the way they have been treated by the federal agencies that are responsible for the public lands they are managing. It is no secret that their ultimate goal is to remove the tens of thousands of cattle that were providing a positive economical and social impact to this area in hopes of returning it to a free-roaming bison herd. In order to achieve this, they were approved to remove improvements from public lands, namely cross fences, and change their season of use from a set period of grazing to year-round. The federal agencies can claim that there were no special favors done to achieve these changes, but I know that if the typical cattle or sheep rancher running on public lands would have made these requests there would be no way they would be approved, let alone as quickly as they were. It seems that American Prairie has gotten preferential treatment every step along the way.
Getting back to Denowh’s article, I appreciate a quote he led the article off with, which states, “Most regretfully we’re losing the next generation of family ranchers whose job it is to grow food. The dangerous decline in American agricultural production over the last few decades is accelerated if we allow nonprofit groups to buy up prime Montana ranch land. It’s no wonder we’re seeing such increases in food prices.” We need to call for a change in policy to make these nonprofit groups who purchase land pay their fair share in taxes. We need a tax code that incentivizes the land to stay in production agriculture after it is sold. Most of all, we need to keep the American farmer and rancher profitable and provide opportunity to the next generation. — DEVIN MURNIN
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