'Save the Cowboy, Stop the APR!' What does this mean? Pt. 1

Editor’s note: This is the first part of an editorial discussing American Prairie Reserve’s stated goal of assembling private land in the Northern Great Plains north of the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge that can be managed with public land to provide wildlife conservation, including re-introduction of bison, and public access.

We have all seen the colorful banners posted on roadsides, near ranch entries, and even in the windows of town businesses. A cowboy sits on horseback in front of a sunset with the words “Save the Cowboy, Stop the APR” emblazoned across the sky. Picturesque to say the least, but what does it really mean? Why must we stop the APR to save the cowboy? This is the question recently posed to me, Dana Darlington, and as current president of North Central Stockgrowers, the current chairman of the Big Sandy Conservation District, past chairman of the Missouri River Conservation Districts Council, past vice-chair of the BLM RAC, I believe I have some credibility to answer this question.

There are two distinct issues that the American Prairie Reserve — APR — brings that cause conflict in the region. The first is their widely publicized goal to create a bison preserve in the Northern Great Plains of Montana for wild, free-roaming bison. To fully understand why bison creates such a rub with the local communities, let’s look back 20-plus years at the history of this region.

In 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US National Park Service formed a Bison Conservation and Management Working Group. They met annually to discuss culling practices, wildlife health, and to share information about the herds of bison that were already established on federal land. One of their first actions was to develop a list of wildlife refuges and national parks, including Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska, Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana for consideration of developing bison habitat in cooperation with adjoining landowner, including the BLM.

Fast-forward to October 2008, when the Department of Interior released their Bison Conservation Initiative. Principle Number 5 of the initiative states: “The Department of the Interior will work with interested parties, including states, tribes, landowners, and conservationists to discuss advantages and concerns associated with specific actions, guided by Executive Order Number 13352 Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation.” Furthermore, the Introduction of the Bison Conservation Initiative states: “One of the iconic symbols of American frontier expansion is the image of vast herds of North American bison grazing on the Western Plains. While the days of millions of free-roaming bison are gone, it may be possible to develop partnership arrangements that will permit bison herds to re-create their natural role in areas where biologically suitable and socially acceptable.” Clearly, there is an interest by the federal government, specifically the Department of the Interior, to re-establish bison herds on a large landscape in the western US. Even more clear, is the constraints that the Dept of the Interior, and its sub-ordinate agencies, including the US FWS, US NPS, and the BLM, will work with partners to make this happen where it is socially acceptable.

The next obvious question is, what does it mean to be “socially acceptable?” In my opinion, “socially acceptable” means putting these large herbivores in communities that are in favor of bison restoration. Now, its 2019, and the American Prairie Reserve has this robust plan to put together a 3.5 million acre bison preserve, which includes the CMR NWR and the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument. After years of going to meetings, and being involved in setting up the CMR Community Working Group and visiting with the people who live in these communities, it is plain to see that bison are not socially acceptable according to the people who reside in this area and make a living. On a federal level, I believe that the Department of Interior has ignored their own guidelines in the Bison Conservation Initiative directing their activities to be socially acceptable. It is easy to prove this is not socially acceptable in these communities that depend on agriculture for their high-schools, small-businesses, mainstreet business and general feeling of communities. To this, I would like to see the honorable Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte do some investigating into how the Department of the Interior can continue to steamroll these local communities that have repeatedly said, no, no, no to bison. If you do not believe that the local communities have said no to free-roaming bison, take a look at the bison ordinances passed by counties in Montana. In McCone, Phillips, Valley, and Fergus Counties along with the Big Sandy Conservation District, 69 percent of the voters approved a land-use ordinance for protection of water and soil from wild, free roaming or domestic bison grazing. That means that 69 percent of actual citizens (registered voters in these counties) are concerned about the impact that wild and free-roaming bison could have on their counties ecological and economic situation.

In my opinion, this is what I have seen unfold in the past 11 years. The Department of the Interior was charged to head up the Bison Conservation Initiative, but lack of funding or other resources prevented them from fulfilling these goals. Once the Department realized that they were not going to get this done on their own, they began working with the APR behind the scenes to allow APR to get the bison herd started, with the Department of the Interior opening all the right doors to enable this to happen.

There has been much debate about whether the threat of losing our brucellosis free status is legitimate; to me this concern is very real. In a survey conducted in 2008, in the Greater Yellowstone Area, 1,500 brucellosis positive bison were found out of a total of 2,100 animals in Yellowstone and 950 animals in the Grand Teton National Park that were tested for the disease. While the agencies assure the ranching community that these bison will be quarantined and tested before leaving the park to various locations, we all know that errors can occur. So my question is, “Is it really worth the millions and millions of dollars that could be lost to the ranching industry if there was a brucellosis outbreak in Central and Eastern Montana?” Again, my challenge to the state law-makers would be to realize how much revenue the ag industry brings to the state coffers of Montana as compared to the tourist industry which has no real tax mechanism to capture these dollars.

Furthermore, wildlife are the responsibility of Montana FWP. However, bison have a dual status and are not considered wildlife outside of the park. With that said, there is no place for Montana FWP or US FWS to be collaborating with APR to achieve what can in Montana legally be described as nothing more than livestock grazing on federal lands. To further strengthen this position, Montana should do away with any dual status classification of bison. Bison should be considered wildlife in Yellowstone National Park, but anywhere outside the Park including private ranches, BLM ground, and tribal grounds, they are currently considered, and should remain classified as, livestock and should be managed as such.

My challenge to the State of Montana Legislative Body is to listen to the people who live in the communities that will be most affected if this land grab continues. Additionally, I would encourage the legislature to ensure that Montana FWP not be a partner with the APR in encouraging bison restoration as wildlife outside of the Greater Yellowstone Area. Senate Bill 212, which defines the steps that Montana FWP must follow if considering establishing a free-ranging bison herd, became law in 2017. Montana FWP has not yet issued a record of decision on the EIS for bison, and as such has no role in bison restoration as wildlife outside of Yellowstone National Park. Thank you,

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Dana Darlington

Fourth-generation rancher

Big Sandy