Burgum assumes control over American Prairie grazing cases

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has “assumed jurisdiction” of three American Prairie grazing rights cases, according to a memo obtained by the Western Ag Network.

The three cases deal with bison grazing on federal land in Phillips County. The appeals had previously been handled by the Bureau of Land Management and have been in that process for more than three years. 

In September, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, as well as the four members of Montana’s federal delegation, signed a letter asking Burgum to “assess this matter further.” The Interior Department did not return a request for comment asking why Burgum took up the matter, and if the letter had anything to do with the decision.

The Governor’s Office did not return a request for comment either. 

The September letter stated American Prairie was trying to remove “vast swaths” of land from agricultural production. And there has been a fear from some ranchers that their land was going to be turned into a National Park.

The venom, though, appears to have dissipated somewhat over the years, and American Prairie has also pointed to the economic impact their work has created. The organization also leases much of its land to cattle producers, the organization has said. The September letter argued the opposite was true.

“The claim that American Prairie ‘threatens the economic vitality’ of the state, is on its face absurd,” American Prairie spokesperson Pete Geddes said in October. 

American Prairie has insisted what they’re doing is legal, that federal law doesn’t prohibit conservation grazing, and even if it did, their bison are livestock. American Prairie is also suing the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation over a state grazing permit adjacent to federal land that’s part of the appeals Burgum is now in charge of. 

In a statement, American Prairie said they welcomed the move. 

“We’re looking forward to the secretary making a decision in this case after more than three years of it being tied up in administrative court,” American Prairie spokesperson Beth Saboe said Friday in an email. “Since the beginning, our position has been simple: We’re only asking to be treated the same as any other agricultural producer with grazing privileges in Montana. We look forward to the secretary’s decision and remain eager to move this process forward quickly and fairly.”

The time it has taken for the appeals process “undermines the integrity for everyone,” Saboe added. Saboe also said they’re not asking to expand any agency’s authority, nor are they trying to establish new precedent.

“It is a slippery slope when agencies begin altering or complicating routine public-lands grazing requests,” Saboe wrote. “The entire system depends on consistent, lawful, and predictable application of existing standards. When normal processes are stretched or stalled, every producer who relies on public-lands grazing is put at risk.”