By Kaylyn Zipp
Bison used for ecological restoration have been served an eviction notice on federal lands, leaving other herds in limbo and sparking debate over how livestock and the term “domestic” are defined.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a final decision on American bison (Bison bison) grazing permits to American Prairie, a nonprofit focused on restoring bison and the prairie ecosystem in Montana. On its website, American Prairie states that its “long-term goal is to grow bison herds to a population size that would result in the species fulfilling their ecological role on the landscape.”
Bison are a keystone species, ecologically important to habitat diversity in prairie ecosystems. In response to the proposed decision issued in January 2026, interest groups challenged the proposed revocation, claiming it would be an invalid and potentially harmful reinterpretation of the law governing livestock grazing on federal lands.
“This proposal is an unprecedented reversal of BLM’s own decision-making after more than 40 years of treating bison as eligible livestock under federal grazing law,” said Alison Fox, CEO of American Prairie, in a press release. “BLM lawfully approved these permits after a thorough environmental review and defended them for years.”
BLM justified the proposal to revoke American Prairie’s 2022 grazing authorization because the animals are used for ecological restoration as opposed to traditional livestock grazing operations. The justification focuses on the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 and on the BLM’s designation of American Prairie’s bison herd as wildlife rather than domestic livestock. In the decision to revoke the permits, they define “species of domestic livestock” as cattle, sheep, horses, burros and goats. The BLM states that livestock grazing on their land must be used for “production-oriented purposes,” such as meat, milk or fiber.
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