GREAT FALLS — American Prairie filed a federal complaint Tuesday challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to revoke six bison grazing permits in Phillips County. Western Watersheds Project said it plans to file a separate complaint Wednesday.
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Both groups previously appealed BLM’s May 8 decision through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. They also requested stays to pause the decision while the administrative appeals continued.
American Prairie Director of Public Affairs Beth Saboe said the Office of Hearings and Appeals had 45 days to act on the organization’s stay request. That period expired Monday without a ruling.
“The next procedural step was to file in federal district court,” Saboe said.
Western Watersheds Project Executive Director Erik Molvar said his group also received no decision on its stay request within the allotted time.
On the other side, the Montana Stockgrowers Association and the North and South Phillips County grazing districts previously sought to intervene on BLM’s side during the administrative proceedings.
American Prairie seeks to reinstate permits
“We’re seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction aimed at halting that Sept. 30 deadline,” Saboe said.
American Prairie’s complaint says more than 900 bison must be removed from the six federal allotments by Sept. 30. It says the organization would not have enough space and forage for the animals elsewhere and would be forced to cull at least 300.
Saboe said the removal could also cost American Prairie hundreds of thousands of dollars through lost animal value, replacement fencing and abandoned infrastructure investments.
In its suit, Western Watersheds plans on asking the court to reverse BLM’s decision but is not initially seeking an injunction, Molvar said.
Disagreement over federal grazing law
BLM authorized the bison grazing in 2022 following a multi-year environmental review. The agency reversed course in May.
In its May 8 decision, BLM determined American Prairie’s bison did not meet what the agency called a “production-oriented” standard under the Taylor Grazing Act.
In an earlier interview, Montana Stockgrowers Association President Lesley Robinson supported that interpretation, saying federal grazing permits are intended for livestock raised for production.
“Production livestock grazing is raising a product for a food product,” Robinson said. “And a conservation herd is, that is not their intention.”
American Prairie and Western Watersheds argue that no “production-oriented” requirement appears in the Taylor Grazing Act. They also argue that BLM previously recognized privately owned bison as livestock eligible to graze on federal allotments.
American Prairie is asking the court to overturn BLM’s May decision and reinstate its six permits. Western Watersheds said its planned complaint will also ask the court to reverse the decision.
BLM did not immediately respond Tuesday to MTN’s request for comment.
