BILLINGS – U.S. officials on Wednesday announced approval of a conservation group’s proposal to expand bison grazing on public lands in north-central Montana over objections from some ranchers and elected officials.
The decision allows the American Prairie Reserve to graze bison on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property south of Malta and to remove some 30 miles of fences so the animals can roam more freely.
The Bozeman-based group already has more than 800 bison on a mix of public and private land. Its long-term goal is to piece together a 5,000-square-mile (12,950-sq. kilometer) expanse that would include the C.M. Russel National wildlife refuge and provide home with thousands of bison and other wildlife.
Some cattle ranches have sold property to the group as it amasses land to create the reserve, but others have fiercely opposed the effort. They worry bison will displace cattle and that their agriculture-dependent community will be forever altered.
Republicans including Gov. Greg Gianforte and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sharply criticized federal officials after American Prairie Reserve received preliminary approval last August.
Gianforte’s office on Wednesday was reviewing the final decision, spokesperson Brooke Stroyke said.
The proposal covered about 108 square miles (280 square kilometers) south of Malta and will allow American Prairie to increase the size of its bison herd to about 1,000 animals by 2025, the group said.