American Prairie has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s May revocation of six federal grazing permits for the organization’s bison herd in Phillips County, Montana. The case was heard before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris on Tuesday, with American Prairie requesting a ruling by September 15.

The BLM announced the permit cancellation on May 8 and set a September 30 deadline for the permits’ revocation. If that deadline stands, American Prairie would be forced to cull or relocate approximately 300 of its more than 900 bison. The organization contends that removing the animals would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Core Dispute

The disagreement centers on how to interpret the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act. The BLM asserts that American Prairie’s bison qualify as a “conservation herd” rather than “production livestock,” a distinction the agency argues places them outside the scope of federal grazing permits originally issued in 2022. The underlying leases, however, date to 2005.

American Prairie currently grazes bison on three of the six allotments in Phillips County covered by the revoked permits. Scott Heidebrink, the organization’s director of landscape stewardship, told the outlet that American Prairie has two decades of experience managing the herd on BLM land. “We’ve got 20 years of experience grazing on the BLM, 20 years of precedents and decisions made by the BLM. And so, we’re hopeful we don’t have to remove the bison from the BLM,” Heidebrink said, as first reported by the KTVH.

Opposition and Next Steps

The Montana Stockgrowers Association has opposed American Prairie’s position in the dispute. The BLM and state defendants declined to comment on camera regarding the case.

Judge Morris did not immediately issue a ruling following Tuesday’s hearing. American Prairie’s request for a decision by mid-September reflects the tight timeline imposed by the BLM’s September 30 deadline.

The case illustrates ongoing tensions in Montana over land use and wildlife management on federally managed acreage, where conservation groups and traditional agricultural operators frequently clash over the interpretation of decades-old statutes governing public grazing rights.