The Trump administration issued a formal eviction notice late Friday to the 940 bison that graze on public lands in Montana, asserting the animals fail to meet “production‑oriented purposes” under federal law.
The Montana-based conservation group American Prairie vowed to fight the animals’ removal from more than 63,000 acres, and the revocation of grazing permits that have allowed their livestock on seven federal allotments.
“This decision abandons decades of consistent federal policy and extends far beyond American Prairie,” Alison Fox, the nonprofit group’s CEO, said in a statement. “By reversing decades of precedent, [the Bureau of Land Management] is creating uncertainty for tribal buffalo restoration, conservation partnerships, and public lands grazing management nationwide. The agency’s action is arbitrary, shortsighted, and contrary to its own longstanding interpretation of federal grazing law.”
An American Prairie spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO’s E&E News that the organization will appeal the decision to the Interior Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals.
