HELENA – In response to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) final decision today granting the American Prairie Reserve a permit change to allow bison grazing in Phillips County, Montana’s Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued the following statement:

“After shutting out public input from local communities, it’s not a surprise that President Biden’s Bureau of Land Management would rubber-stamp this radical proposal that is another step toward displacing northeast Montana’s livestock industry and replacing it with a large outdoor zoo. My office is reviewing the decision closely to determine our next steps to protect ranchers and ensure the State’s interests are upheld.”

Attorney General Knudsen held a public listening session in Malta, Montana last year to hear from local agriculturalists the BLM effectively ignored and shutout from the public comment process. More than 250 Montanans came to the meeting.

After hearing from people in the affected community, Attorney General Knudsen submitted formal comments to the BLM opposing American Prairie’s grazing permit change request spelling out multiple legal issues with the BLM’s inadequate review process and the proposal itself.