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Attorney General Knudsen Asks Federal Panel To Overturn BLM's Bison Grazing Decision

MSGA Files Appeal Regarding APR Grazing Allotments

On Aug. 26, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen asked a federal board to overturn the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to grant a permit change allowing bison grazing in Phillips County. The permit is a part of the American Prairie Reserve’s broader effort to expand bison grazing on the plains across northern and eastern Montana.

Attorney General Knudsen’s appeal asks the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals to overturn the decision and issue a stay until the appeal is resolved to prevent irreparable harm to the grazing allotments and surrounding communities.

“The BLM’s decision ignores the real concerns of rural communities and ranchers who rely on the land in favor of elitist attitudes of those seeking to transform Northeast Montana into a wildlife viewing shed for tourists. Agriculture is not an easy way of life, but Montana ranch families – including my own – are proud of their history and heritage that is still a part of our state today,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “As American Prairie Reserve occupies more and more land here, it pushes out ranching communities, threatens our livestock industry, and will ultimately add to the instability of the world’s food supply.”

The release from Attorney General Knudsen stated BLM’s decision violates the Taylor Grazing Act, Federal Land Policy, and Management Act, Public Rangelands Improvement Act, which all aim to improve public range lands and uplift ranching communities. Conservation bison grazing would directly undermine these legislative goals. Additionally, BLM’s process in issuing its decision ignored numerous concerns and legal deficiencies raised by commenters and violated the Administrative Procedure Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

The statement further went on to state grazing indigenous animals like bison can be accomplished through special use grazing permits, but BLM gave APR preferential treatment through bypassing that permit process, upending its statutory scheme, and prioritizing outside groups over Montana ranchers.

“Few (no) cattle ranchers raise cows for the sheer glory of the bovine form, for their symbolic connection to American history, or for their contributions to the natural environment. But that’s precisely what APR intends to do here—manage a bison herd for purely conservation, ecological, and nostalgic ends. Bison aren’t livestock under federal law,” the appeal states. “Such a shift in the use of the land harms not only ranchers—who can no longer use this federal land to graze their livestock—but entire rural communities who depend on livestock operations to earn their own living.”

The BLM failed to adequately consider these economic impacts on local communities as required by law as well as the interference a large bison herd would cause surrounding cattle operations. Additionally, BLM held a single virtual meeting “in the middle of the day, in the middle of the work week, in the middle of haying season—a time and format that precluded the participation of those individuals most impacted by the proposal and most likely to offer salient feedback.”

Last September, Attorney General Knudsen held a public listening session in Malta. More than 250 Montanans came to the meeting, including many local agriculturalists who said the BLM effectively ignored and shut them out from its public comment process.

Following that, he filed formal comments with the BLM that spelled out the legal issues with the agency’s inadequate review process and with the APR’s proposal itself, which are echoed in the appeal.

In addition, Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) has filed an appeal on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) decision regarding American Prairie’s grazing allotments. In partnership with North and South Phillips Grazing Districts and under the counsel of the Budd-Falen Law Offices, LLC, MSGA appealed the recent decision and requested a stay on this decision.

“Although we have filed the appeal, we still have a long road ahead. We are asking everyone who is concerned about BLM’s favorable decision towards the APR and who is passionate about public land grazing, holding federal agencies accountable, and protecting and conserving Montana’s iconic open spaces to please consider donating to our advocacy fund,” asked MSGA President Jim Steinbeisser. “We are fighting for all Montana ranchers, our rural communities, and for the legacy of ranching in the American West.”

In response to the appeal, American Prairie Vice President and Chief External Relations Officer Pete Geddes stated “We’ve heard from thousands of people; hunters, small businesses, biologists, Native Americans, and citizens across Montana who share a commonly held view that bison have a right to graze and restore the health of our nation’s public lands. That’s why we plan to intervene and defend the Bureau of Land Management’s grazing decision. We are very confident with the Bureau of Land Management’s long-established legal authority to authorize bison grazing on federal grazing allotments. By intervening, we aim to create more opportunities for future generations of Montanans to access and explore our shared public lands and to protect the public’s right to legally restore native wildlife.”

Senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office also stated “Restoring bison to their homelands of northern Montana will have cascading positive impacts throughout the entire ecosystem. By creating a more resilient landscape, these bison herds provide benefits to all those who live in this region as well. The Bureau of Land Management’s decision is consistent with the law, which specifically authorizes public lands grazing by privately-owned indigenous animals, including bison. We look forward to intervening in this suit to allow American Prairie and its partners to continue this important work.”

The full appeal can be found online at: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MTAG/2022/08/26/file_attachments/2254829/2022-08-26%20APR%20Appeal%20and%20Petition%20to%20Stay%20FINAL.pdf

 

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