Conservation Group Challenges Revocation Of Bison Grazing Permits On Public Lands

A conservation group is challenging a decision by the Bureau of Land Management to revoke American Prairie’s authority to graze bison on public lands in northeastern Montana. The group, Western Watersheds Project, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, appealed the decision on June 8, arguing that the move conflicts with plain statutory language, defies decades of settled law, and contradicts BLM's own prior decisions.

BLM issued the bison permits to American Prairie in 2022 after completing a multi-year environmental review finding that bison grazing is permissible on public lands and would be better for prairie grasslands than cattle. Now, the agency has decided to rescind the bison permits under a new theory that a livestock owner must be a “production-oriented” entity. The agency did not define what a “production-oriented” entity is.

"BLM’s new interpretation has no basis in law and contradicts its own findings," said Pete Frost, attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. "BLM reversed itself due to politics, not the law, nor the need to restore prairie grasslands."

In 2022, BLM decided that reading a “production” requirement into federal law “would read words and requirements” into the law that don’t exist. Instead, at that time, BLM said it can “issue permits to any stock owner.”

The BLM's 2022 decision found that privately-owned bison are domestic livestock under the Taylor Grazing Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Multiple-Use Sustained Yield Act. This is consistent with Montana state law, which consistently treated American Prairie’s bison herd as "livestock," by levying taxes and imposing disease testing requirements.

“The Trump administration’s revocation of these bison grazing permits is beyond bizarre because bison evolved with High Plains ecosystems and are better for land health, better for wildlife, and better for the public than cattle,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. “Tribes also have bison herds for cultural, ecological, and subsistence purposes, which this permit revocation would threaten if it went through.”

Western Watersheds Project points out that, as reported by Public Domain, the 2022 bison grazing decision was appealed by ranching groups represented by Karen Budd-Falen, who is one of the highest ranking officials at the Interior Department. Further, Interior Secretary Burgum personally intervened to direct BLM to reconsider, ultimately producing the outcome Budd-Falen’s former clients sought. 

When the revocation was proposed earlier this year, American Prairie filed an official Protest against the proposal, alongside a Protest from the Coalition of Large Tribes which represents more than 50 tribes with the largest land bases and more than half the Native American population. The Protests were, however, unsuccessful in stopping the revocation.

Western Environmental Law Center and Western Watersheds Project say they will pursue all available administrative remedies and, if necessary, file suit to prevent the unlawful eviction of bison from public lands.