For Immediate Release
January 20, 2026
Contact:
Patrick Kelly, Western Watersheds Project, (208) 576-4314, patrick@westernwatersheds.org
MISSOULA, Mont. – Western Watersheds Project today blasted the Department of Interior for its proposal to sabotage the central Montana bison restoration efforts of the nonprofit conservation group American Prairie by revoking their permits. By insisting that the allotments only be grazed by non-native cattle instead of bison, Interior has caved to political pressure from public lands livestock interests and the politicians beholden to them.
“I’ve made multiple field visits to these grazing allotments, and with bison grazing the wetlands and streamside habitats on American Prairie’s allotments are lightly grazed and in fine ecological shape, in stark contrast to the severe degradation that we often see to wildlife habitats near water when cattle are the primary grazer on public lands,” said Patrick Kelly, Montana-Washington Director with Western Watersheds Project.
The Bureau of Land Management has many livestock grazing allotments that are failing even the most basic rangeland health standards according to the agency’s own assessments. The public lands within the bison-grazed allotments at issue here are in exceptionally good condition.
“A growing body of peer-reviewed research finds that bison and cattle do not graze the landscape the same way, and the differences matter for riparian recovery, biodiversity, and ecosystem resilience,” said Kelly. “Unlike cattle, bison tend to range widely, graze in patches across slopes and uplands, and avoid prolonged use of streamside areas. The high plains of central Montana evolved with bison, and the return of bison is a critical step towards healing this imperiled landscape.”
On January 16th, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum issued a Notice of Proposed Decision, announcing that the agency plans to revoke six livestock grazing permits currently held by American Prairie for bison restoration – Telegraph Creek, Box Elder, Flat Creek, Whiterock Coulee, French Coulee, and Garey Coulee – and issue cattle- only grazing permits on them. The letter leans heavily on the definition of “livestock” that are permitted on public land grazing leases. In his letter, Burgum concedes that the Taylor Grazing Act and other federal laws do not define the term livestock, and instead leans heavily on the Black’s Law Dictionary definition of “live” and “stock” to disqualify American Prairie from holding federal grazing permits for bison restoration, managing them as a wild herd.
“While there is no definition of livestock in federal law to refer to, the State of Montana defines bison as both ‘livestock’ and ‘wildlife’, choosing whichever definition best serves their interests. Since either applies, it would seem that wild bison are perfectly appropriate for a federal grazing allotment,” said Kelly. “It is far more appropriate to have this native species that evolved with the Great Plains ecosystems on federal public lands, than it is to force the agency to rent public lands to graze non-native, ecologically destructive cattle and sheep.”
In a significant twist, livestock attorney Karen Budd-Falen represented cattle producers initially challenging American Prairie’s bison permits, before Secretary Burgum took jurisdiction away from a judge at the Office of Hearings and Appeals in 2025 to make the decision himself. Secretary Burgum then remanded the decision back to the agency, and now proposes to vacate the permits.
“Having Karen Budd-Falen now operate as the Associate Deputy Secretary of Interior while her immediate superior vacates grazing permits that she had challenged creates a clear and obvious conflict of interest,” Kelly said. “Budd-Falen needs to be removed from the Department of Interior to wash the taint of corruption from this sordid affair.”
Western Watersheds Project has filed for Interested Party status in the proposed decision, and plans to protest and appeal the decision to revoke bison permits associated with the American Prairie holdings.
“We look forward to meeting Secretary Burgum in court, and we are confident that justice will prevail,” said Kelly.
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