Trump Gears Up to Deport Hundreds of Animals From Red State Prairie

Key Points:

• The Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is moving to evict approximately 900 bison from federal lands in Phillips County, Montana, revoking the American Prairie Foundation’s grazing license based on the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, which prioritizes livestock for food production.
• The decision has been supported by ranchers, Republican lawmakers, and Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, who argue that public lands should remain accessible and productive rather than reserved for special interests.
• Environmentalists, Native American tribal leaders, and the American Prairie Foundation oppose the revocation, asserting that the bison should be classified as livestock, citing their management practices including tagging, vaccination, leasing land to cattle ranchers, and donating meat to food pantries.
• The American Prairie Foundation criticizes the BLM’s move as an arbitrary reversal of over 40 years of policy treating bison as eligible livestock, warning that the decision creates uncertainty for tribes, ranchers, and conservation partners.
• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has expressed support for selling federal lands to reduce national debt, but details on how Phillips County land would be redistributed among ranchers remain unclear.