{"id":99945,"date":"2022-07-29T17:16:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T23:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/?p=99945"},"modified":"2022-08-02T10:41:02","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T16:41:02","slug":"blm-approves-american-prairie-reserve-grazing-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2022\/07\/29\/blm-approves-american-prairie-reserve-grazing-application\/","title":{"rendered":"BLM approves American Prairie Reserve\u2019s bison grazing proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Bureau of Land Management approved American Prairie Reserve\u2019s application for grazing leases on 63,000 acres of BLM-administered land in Phillips County Thursday. The application process, which dates to 2018, drew intense public interest, in large part due to the animals included on the grazing leases: bison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The application became a lightning rod for opinions about both bison and APR, which aims to conserve prairie species<\/a> by acquiring large private parcels and connecting them with tracts of public land, thereby \u201ccreating the largest wildlife reserve of its kind in the lower 48 states.\u201d That vision is largely funded by private investments. According to the most recent available financial statement on its website, the APR had $77 million in net assets in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLM received 2,700 comments on its environmental analysis of APR\u2019s proposal, which included renewal of two existing leases and the addition of four more. <\/strong>APR proposed changing the seasonal timing of grazing on some allotments and adding an electrified wire to some fences, along with other fence modifications. One <\/strong>allotment will be grazed by both APR bison and cattle owned by another lessee. The others will be bison-only leases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u201cAfter shutting out public input from local communities, it\u2019s not a surprise that President Biden\u2019s Bureau of Land Management would rubber-stamp this radical proposal that is another step toward displacing northeast Montana\u2019s livestock industry and replacing it with a large outdoor zoo.\u201d <\/p>Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

Industry groups and elected officials who\u2019ve been vocal about their frustrations with APR delivered swift and vigorous opposition to the approval, with at least three Republican elected office-holders forecasting continued opposition to the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gov. Greg Gianforte questioned whether BLM has \u201cstatutory authority\u201d to enact the proposal In an emailed statement. In a tweet<\/a>, Sen. Steve Daines called the approval \u201ccompletely unreasonable\u201d and representative of the Biden administration \u201cignoring input from [Montana] ranchers.\u201d Daines said he will work with Gianforte\u2019s office in the coming weeks to review the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen also criticized BLM\u2019s approval process in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter shutting out public input from local communities, it\u2019s not a surprise that President Biden\u2019s Bureau of Land Management would rubber-stamp this radical proposal that is another step toward displacing northeast Montana\u2019s livestock industry and replacing it with a large outdoor zoo,\u201d Knudsen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the critique alluded to by Gianforte, Daines and Knudsen is related to frustration about APR-adjacent lands transitioning away from agricultural production to more conservation or recreationally oriented uses. \u201cSave the Cowboy, Stop the APR\u201d signs have become common in Phillips County, and agriculture industry groups like the Montana Public Lands Council allege that BLM has demonstrated \u201cpreferential treatment to this specific permittee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BLM\u2019s 48-page record of decision<\/a> references the live wire underlying so much interest in the leasing decision: the relative rarity of bison grazing on allotments the agency manages. But it noted that bison grazing is permitted on other BLM allotments, both in-state and out-of-state. BLM administers leases in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming where bison grazing is permitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough the proposal to allow domestic indigenous livestock grazing conflicts with views and opinions expressed among some users of public lands, such unfavorable views of the proposal itself do not constitute a scientific controversy, disagreement about the nature of effects, or provide evidence that the project is not in conformance to BLM\u2019s statutory and regulatory requirements,\u201d the record of decision reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision also touches on how BLM anticipates bison grazing to interact with other flora and fauna, which was one of a handful of concerns flagged by the Montana Stockgrowers Association, including \u201cimpacts to the rangeland health, riparian areas and socioeconomic impacts to the rural communities and the livestock industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis decision is grounded in sound science, complies with all local, state and federal laws, and recognizes the important ways bison grazing has and will continue to improve rangeland health.\u201d <\/p>American Prairie Reserve CEO Alison Fox<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

The agency referenced differing grazing habits between bison and cattle in the decision, arguing that since bison tend to graze in patches, their presence on the landscape supports \u201ca patchy distribution of vegetation that encourages plant species diversity by allowing forbs [flowering plants] <\/strong>to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpecies such as Greater Sage Grouse will benefit from an increase in native forbs,\u201d the document continues. \u201cBecause bison tend to spend less time and forage greater distances from water, improvements to riparian vegetation and riparian function will also be seen. This will improve habitat conditions for aquatic and riparian wildlife species, such as amphibians and riparian birds, by increasing the availability of habitat features, such as canopy cover and nesting sites, due to increased riparian vegetation diversity and abundance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The application process started in 2018, when BLM initiated public scoping on APR\u2019s proposal. Last July, BLM released an environmental assessment and took public comment over a 90-day period. It then issued a proposed grazing decision in March, which, it said, incorporated \u201cseveral revisions\u201d to its earlier analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

APR emphasized the process that preceded BLM\u2019s decision in an emailed statement about the final decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter four years of comprehensive analysis and public comment, we are extremely pleased the BLM has approved this grazing application,\u201d APR CEO Alison Fox said. \u201cThis decision is grounded in sound science, complies with all local, state and federal laws, and recognizes the important ways bison grazing has and will continue to improve rangeland health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerican Prairie relies on voluntary land acquisition, cooperation, and private management \u2014 not regulation, taxpayer dollars, or federal land acquisitions. Everyone who respects landowner property rights should support this promising new model for conservation.\u201d <\/p>Jonathan Wood, vice president of law and policy at the Property and Environmental Research Center.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

According to the group, the application approval will allow APR to expand its herd of bison by about 200 animals to approximately 1,000 animals in the next three years. \u201cBy comparison,\u201d the email continues, \u201cthe majority of American Prairie\u2019s land base is leased out to local cattle ranchers and supports over 10,000 head of cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an emailed statement, Bozeman-based Property and Environmental Research Center vice president of law and policy Jonathan Wood went to bat for APR and its guiding model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not only the right decision legally, but it\u2019s also the right way to approach conservation. American Prairie relies on voluntary land acquisition, cooperation, and private management \u2014 not regulation, taxpayer dollars, or federal land acquisitions,\u201d Wood said. \u201cEveryone who respects landowner property rights should support this promising new model for conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per BLM rules, any applicant, permittee, lessee or other person \u201cwhose interest is adversely affected by the final decision\u201d can file an appeal to the decision within 30 days of July 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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