Photo: John Stember.
An environmental organization called American Prairie says the northern grasslands of Montana are the only place left in the United States where an entire prairie ecosystem could be restored.
Are you familiar with the musical Oklahoma! and the song that goes, “the farmer and the cowman should be friends”? I can’t help thinking of it as I read this New York Times article about a group called American Prairie, which believes bison and and cattle should coexist.
Jack Healy reports that the federal government wants to evict hundreds of bison from their sanctuary in Montana and replace them with cattle. …
“ ‘This is a part of our country’s heritage,’ said Alison Fox, executive director of American Prairie, a deep-pocketed nonprofit that has spent two decades buying ranches and grazing leases on public land in northern Montana to create the newly embattled home for bison.
“The conflict centers on 900 bison owned by the group, which was allowed by multiple administrations … to graze on federal lands, much to the consternation of politically conservative ranchers who wanted the land for cattle.
“This winter, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reversed course and canceled the bison grazing permits. Citing the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, the agency said the federal grasslands where the animals grazed should go to livestock being raised for food, not bison largely enjoying their right to roam. The agency deemed the bison to be wildlife, not production livestock.
“Conservation groups condemned the decision, as did Native American tribes, who say the anti-bison effort threatens their own herds as they try to revive bison populations that were hunted to near extinction by 19th-century settlers.
“But Montana ranchers like Perri Jacobs celebrated. … ‘These lands are here for food,’ said Ms. Jacobs, whose family has raised cows in northern Montana for nearly 110 years. ‘We have to understand that progress and time march forward. Bison just don’t fit on the landscape anymore.’ …
“The bison fight fits squarely in a larger war over the West, as the [administration] pushes to open more public land to oil drilling, mining and logging. …
“ ‘We must ensure that public lands remain accessible and productive, rather than being locked away for the vision of special interests,’ Gov. Greg Gianforte said after the federal permits were canceled.
American Prairie argues that cows and bison can coexist, and is trying to undo the Bureau of Land Management’s decision.
“The bureau, it said, scrapped decades of successful land policies by arbitrarily redefining what constitutes ‘livestock’ in the American West. … American Prairie says it will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to alter fence lines and haul bison away from lands where they belong.
“That argument falls flat with many ranchers along the rolling plains of Phillips County, which is larger than Connecticut and stretches south from the Canadian border to the Missouri River Breaks. Signs along cattle gates and wire fences declare, ‘Save the Cowboy, Stop American Prairie.’
“The enmity began when American Prairie began buying ranch land and the accompanying grazing leases more than 20 years ago, with the aim of building one of the largest nature reserves in the country. Its property and grazing lands have grown to about double the size of Los Angeles.
“The resentment has sharpened since the Covid-19 pandemic, as wealthy out-of-staters drove up land prices with dreams of snagging their slice of a state that’s been called ‘The Last Best Place.’ …
“American Prairie … says it tries to be a good neighbor. Its bison are tagged and vaccinated, and kept behind well-maintained electrified fences to keep them from traipsing into cattle fields. It leases land not occupied by bison to local cattle ranchers, and has opened up public access through much of its land. It sends live bison to help tribes expand and diversify their herds, and donates meat to local food pantries.”
More at the Times, here. Update: The change went through and American Prairie sued. More about that here.
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