Skip to content
News
American Prairie sues Montana DNRC for Six-Year Delay of bison grazing permits
American Prairie says Gianforte administration has blocked permits for six years, claiming environmental laws don’t apply to state agency
American Prairie says it has no other option than to sue the Gianforte administration and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation because the agency refuses to complete an environmental review and issue a grazing lease for a portion of its bison operations.
American Prairie, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and maintaining one of the nation’s largest nature reserves, owns large swaths of property and has been dedicated to promoting and preserving prairie land and graze bison. It also offers hunting and recreational opportunities throughout central, northern and eastern Montana.
American Prairie filed the lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County District Court, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel DNRC action. DNRC argues it is not bound by the Montana Environmental Policy Act or that the law allows it to delay, while awaiting federal decisions on related grazing leases. The nonprofit alleges unequal treatment, citing DNRC’s issuance of bison permits on other parcels and its refusal to conduct an independent environmental review independent of federal appeals. Montana law requires DNRC to complete environmental reviews within 90 days, but the lease application has lingered six years past that deadline.
Federal grazing leases remain under review by the Bureau of Land Management’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, with appeals potentially extending to the Supreme Court.
American Prairie sues Montana DNRC for bison grazing permits
By Darrell Ehrlick, Daily Montanan
Conservationists Go To Bat For Bison, Montana’s American Prairie And The Law
What’s happening now in the heart of the wide-open West in Montana is something of national importance. Its outcome has huge implications for hundreds of millions of acres from the Pacific to the Mississippi
