Home on the Range No More: Trump Wants Bison Gone
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- The Trump administration plans to remove Crazy Alice, a half-ton bison, and hundreds of other bison from Montana prairie lands to replace them with cattle, sparking conflict between ranchers, Republican leaders, and conservationists.
- American Prairie, a nonprofit that has spent two decades acquiring ranches and grazing leases to support bison on public lands, views the bison as a vital part of American heritage.
- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management canceled bison grazing permits this winter, citing the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, which prioritizes livestock production over wildlife grazing on federal lands.
- Conservation groups and Native American tribes oppose the decision, arguing it threatens ongoing efforts to restore bison populations decimated by 19th-century settlers.
