Montana Ranchers React to Biden Admin APR Decision
When I saw the recent news regarding the Biden BLM and the APR, my immediate reaction was that this was a kickback to the radical left environmentalists that supported Joe Biden's political campaign.
We're talking about the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the American Prairie Reserve (APR). The BLM is headed up by Tracy Stone-Manning, who is connected to an Earth First eco-terrorism case. The APR is funded by foreign billionaires who are working to kick Montana ranchers off the land.
So how are Montana ranchers reacting to this decision by the Biden BLM to allow for the APR to have year-round grazing for bison in Phillips County, Montana? The Montana Public Lands Council (MPLC) is not pleased, obviously. I spoke with Vicki Olson, a Phillips County rancher and MPLC Chair. Here's what she had to say shortly after the news was announced:
Vicki Olson: As the state’s largest organization representing individuals who graze on public lands, our members are very familiar with the permit processes and what processes should be followed. We feel this proposed decision did not take into account the additional vetting and analysis needed to make a decision. Our organization has brought forth in previous comments the legality of bison’s grazing eligibility under the Taylor Grazing Act as well as concerns regarding rangeland health and the protection of riparian areas.”
In our radio conversation, Vicki Olson told us how the APR is being allowed to tear out the infrastructure that has been in place for decades, and the APR is getting special privileges that others don't get:
Vicki Olson: Most of the interior fences will be removed. There is some rotational grazing on part of - on four of the allotments, and three of them will be year round, with no rate at rotations, just 12 months a year. And even on their proposed rotational ones they're getting to go out a whole month earlier than anybody else on those pastures. Which there again, why should they be a month earlier than anybody else? That just isn't good range management.
Here's the full audio of our chat:
As Mark Daniels reported out of Shelby, Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) are both calling on the Biden Administration "to extend the protest period on the proposed decision affecting grazing allotments for the American Prairie Reserve in Phillips County."