This is no doubt a major win for American Prairie and has been a goal of theirs since they started acquiring land in Phillips County, MT, and adjacent areas. They have been strategically purchasing private ranches with public land allotments in order to tie up vast acreage of lands in the name of conservation. Their goal is to make an American Serengeti in Montana and beyond, which definitely resonates with their donors, as they have received millions of dollars in donations from the public. However, they are doing this at the cost of local communities, with huge impacts to that region. Schools, local businesses and agriculture production have taken a huge hit in the impacted areas, as ranching families have left and severely impeded the economic sustainability in rural Montana. I have touched on this in past articles I have written, so I won’t dive deep into those implications today.
The frustrating and worrying part of this topic has to do with the decision made by BLM. The public lands that were managed by American Prairie had a century’s worth of improvements, responsible livestock management and economic benefit for the region, and this was all wiped away with a rubber stamp from the federal agency. The timing of this and the current political atmosphere obviously are in play in this decision. They would not have been able to achieve this approval under the last administration and saw the timing was right for their request given the current agenda in D.C.
For those of you with public lands who have tried to request improvements or change the use of your public lands, this should make you steaming mad. From my experience talking to ranchers, the general consensus is that their agency requests get wrapped up in red tape and they rarely get what they ask. This is extremely disappointing when you consider that the individuals on the land dealing with the day-to-day management see areas to improve their operations and are rarely granted their requests; most of the time, they deal with challenges that make their management more difficult. And don’t even try to increase the number of cattle on your allotment—that never flies.
American Prairie’s request blatantly goes against what domestic livestock producers have been challenged with on public lands. In a nutshell, they will be able to remove fences and other improvements that were used to effectively manage the rangeland. They were able to change their season of use for grazing from intentionally timed grazing of these allotments, to all year long. And they will be able to increase the number of bison on the range from 200 head to over 1,000. And let’s not get started on the impact this will have on the neighboring ranches, who will now have to deal with free-roaming bison and the increased risk of disease exposure.
MSGA is not taking this lying down. They have filed an appeal and have a long legal battle ahead of them to try and reverse this decision. This impact is far greater than the small area in Montana. If this precedent is set, how many groups will follow this playbook and start purchasing land and petitioning for changes all over the country? This could drastically change the landscape of the West and cause a devastating blow to protein production. MSGA is looking at a substantial legal bill for their efforts. I would encourage you to donate to their cause, because this issue could be at your ranch gates if not dealt with here. You can go to www.protectopenspaces.com to make a donation.
On a more positive note, Pete Crow, Jerry York and myself have been working hard on the 2023 Livestock Tour presented by WLJ. Information is out now about the Sandhills Legacy Ranch Tour, which will be taking place May 21-27. We have an exceptional tour lined up with exciting stops that you will surely not want to miss. We encourage you to register early, as we are anticipating this tour to sell out and we are limited to space. We will start the tour Sunday afternoon in Rapid City, SD, then drop down into Nebraska and spend the week touring a great mix of purebred and commercial ranches throughout the Sandhills, before returning to Rapid City on Saturday to finish the tour. Mark your calendars and make plans today to join us for the 2023 Livestock Tour! — DEVIN MURNIN
