Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA), Montana Public Lands Council (MPLC), and Montana Association of State Grazing Districts (MASGD) have consistently provided comments regarding APR proposals and our concern over the impacts to the rangeland health, riparian areas and economic impacts to the livestock industry.

In 2018, MASGD, MPLC and MSGA provided comments regarding the APR’s proposal to modify eighteen BLM grazing allotments, including changing the class of livestock from cattle to bison; allowing for season-long grazing and removing interior fences. 

You can read MSGA’s 2018 comments here.

Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties (MTNRC) is the newly-formed coalition of counties arising from a need for local governments to have a more unified voice when responding to federal agencies dealing with federal lands in their jurisdictions. 

MTNRC recently commissioned a report entitled Repurposing of Federally-Reserved Taylor Grazing Districts For Wildlife Rewilding: A Statutory, Administrative and Legal Analysis, which requests that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) immediately terminate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of the American Prairie Reserve (APR) cattle-to-bison change application. The report is a reasoned response to this action as well as provides for the appropriate process that must be followed when making such requests. 

This report was presented to MSGA members at the MidYear Meeting by Representative Dan Bartel and Fergus County Commissioner, Ross Butcher.

You can find the report in its entirety below.