Media share from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on March 7th, 2026
Thomas Baumeister, Guest columnist
Thomas Baumeister: Bison, bureaucrats and bad politics with American Prairie
In Montana, our way of life starts with the health of the land. When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposes to yank bison grazing permits from American Prairie’s allotments, after years of treating bison as eligible livestock, it turns its back on that land ethic.
For decades, the BLM treated bison as livestock under the Taylor Grazing Act and authorized them on federal leases. In 2022, following an environmental assessment, the agency approved American Prairie’s plan to graze bison on 63,000 acres of public land in Phillips County.
Now, the BLM has abruptly changed course, proposing to rescind those permits. The agency claims that American Prairie manages its bison as a “conservation” herd rather than strictly for meat production, and thus does not meet its narrowed interpretation of “domestic livestock.”
This reversal came after a letter from Gov. Gianforte and the Montana Stockgrowers Association pressing the BLM to change its position.
Caring for the land has always been a priority for landowners in Montana. Generations of ranchers have managed their ground to support livestock, wildlife and rural communities. They have built grazing systems that rest pastures, protect riparian areas, and keep native grasslands productive.
Elk, deer, pronghorn and songbirds all depend on the same healthy rangelands that feed livestock. Grazing is not just an economic activity; it is a tool to achieve genuine multiple use.
Today, more landowners are tailoring their grazing to goals beyond squeezing out one more pound of beef. They are adjusting the season of use, rotating herds, and resting pastures to heal streambanks, boost plant diversity, and support wildlife alongside livestock income.
Even Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks uses cattle grazing on state-owned lands like the Sun River WMA to manage elk habitat.
Under Montana law, privately owned bison are classified and regulated as livestock and are treated much like cattle. Unlike their wild counterparts in Yellowstone, these animals are fenced, handled and subject to state livestock rules.
Owners use them for the same purpose as cattle to manage grass, water and habitat. In practical terms, a landowner who uses cattle or bison to graze private and public land is doing the same thing.
American Prairie is a clear example of that land stewardship model. Its herd of 900 bison is managed across deeded and leased lands to meet range goals.
Since 2016, over 370 bison have been harvested, providing more than 75,000 pounds of meat, as well as 22,000 pounds donated to food banks. Thousands of people enter the lottery every year to harvest a bison; winners pay $300 to participate.
Beyond meat, American Prairie provides free public recreational access and unlockes access to landlocked public parcels.
The Taylor Grazing Act that the BLM invokes does not specify any required level of commercial livestock production. It is silent on how many head or how much meat an operation must generate, or how a permittee may balance production with other values.
Across Montana, many ranchers run fewer cattle than their permits technically allow and are rightly celebrated as good stewards of the land, not punished because their cows are doing too much conservation.
The hypocrisy is blatant. If a private landowner can graze cattle on public land without risking permit loss, why should a neighbor who grazes bison be punished for doing the same thing, and more, for the public good? In a state where bison are legally livestock and where the BLM has long treated them that way, it makes no sense to single out one species and one operator while insisting the land stay grazed by cattle.
This is politics, not stewardship. The BLM needs to pull this proposal and let Montanans manage the land first, and leave the fight over brands and species where it belongs, dead last.