Missoula group appeals BLM move on northeastern Montana bison

MISSOULA, Mont. — Western Watersheds Project, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, has appealed the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to revoke American Prairie’s authority to graze bison on public lands in northeastern Montana.

BLM approved the permits in 2022 after a multi-year environmental review that found bison grazing was allowed on public lands and would be better for prairie grasslands than cattle. The groups said the agency later reversed course in five months and used a new “production-oriented” standard without defining it.