300 Montana Bison Could Be Culled In New Federal Fight

Montana Bison Fight Heads To Federal Court

Back in May, you may remember that the federal government ordered American Prairie to remove its bison from public lands.

Well, that fight isn't over, and now it's headed to federal court.

60,000 Acres of Montana Public Land at Center of Lawsuit

The Daily Montanan is reporting that American Prairie has filed a lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management's decision to revoke six of its grazing permits in Montana. Western Watersheds Project has also filed a separate lawsuit challenging the federal government's new policy.

Those revoked permits covered more than 60,000 acres in eastern Montana, where American Prairie had been grazing a herd of more than 900 bison for more than 20 years.

The new fight centers around how the federal government is interpreting the Taylor Grazing Act.

According to the BLM, livestock using federal grazing land needs to be "production-oriented." American Prairie, however, argues that's a major change from how the rules have been interpreted for decades.

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American Prairie Faces Deadline to Remove Bison

American Prairie was ordered to remove its bison from the federal land by September 30.

According to court documents, American Prairie estimates it could have to cull at least 300 bison to comply with the decision.

The organization says removing that many animals could hurt the genetic diversity of the herd and create additional risks for the bison during handling and transportation.

For now, the bison are still there, but the legal fight is officially underway.

So if you thought Montana's bison controversy was over, it looks like the fight has simply moved from the prairie to the courtroom.