A coalition of forces in Montana, led by Gov. Greg Gianforte, is waging a battle against plans by a group called the American Prairie Reserve (APR) to turn approximately 5,000 square miles of North Central Montana into a “pristine” wilderness area, nicknamed the American Serengeti, to allow “indigenous species,” primarily “genetically pure” bison, to thrive. This would happen at the expense of farming and ranching, and be the largest such preserve on the continent. This is a foremost case of the 30×30 land lock-up demanded by COP26 Climate, and COP15 Biodiversity schemes..
The APR concept is for private money to buy up ranch lands adjacent to Federal land under Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administration, now used for meat animal grazing, and turn it into the preserve. APR, founded in 2001 by people tied to the World Wildlife Fund and Silicon Valley, is a 501(c)(3) lavishly funded by the Davos billionaires’ club. Fewer than 10 donors have supplied $160 million, which is 80% of the APR money raised, only 17% from within the state of Montana.
The BLM, not surprisingly, has bent over backwards to try to facilitate the APR request, holding only one live, virtual hearing session on July 21, during the middle of the afternoon, when most ranchers could not participate because of their work schedule and drought, despite multiple requests by the governor to conduct additional hearings.
Gianforte has blasted the BLM in his comments stating “Agriculture is Montana’s largest Industry. It not only provides economic stability for our families, but serves as the cultural backbone of our state. Any action that could threaten the stability of Montana’s livestock industry, its ability to market healthy products, or the strength of its socioeconomic fabric deserves to be fully vetted and analyzed in an honest, thorough manner.”
A grassroots organization formed in 2016 called “Save the Cowboy” has been working with state and local officials to stop the APR dead in its tracks. They have distributed hundreds of banners displayed all over the state with the slogan “Save The Cowboy, Stop American Prairie Reserve” and have been running a PR campaign encouraging communities to pass anti-bison ordinances and property owners not to sell land to APR. As a result of their efforts, in 2019 a resolution sponsored by State Rep. Dan Bartel (House District 29), HJ 28, was passed urging the BLM to deny APR’s grazing request. See savethecowboy.net
Save the Cowboy is also working with a group called the Montana Natural Resources Coalition (MtNRC) which consists of commissioners from counties within APR’s targeted acquisition zone. Led by Fergus County Commissioner Ross Butcher, the MtNRC commissioned a 101 page report in June of 2020 titled “Repurposing of Federally-Reserved Taylor Grazing Districts For Wildlife Rewilding: A Statutory, Administrative and Legal Analysis” demonstrating that based on federal law, requests by APR to repurpose BLM-managed land for bison is illegal. This was echoed on Sept. 28 of this year by Governor Gianforte with formal comments to the BLM. The full comments of Governor Gianforte along with other state agencies can be read here: https://governor.mt.gov/_docs/MTGov_DraftEnvironmentalAssessment_AmericanPrairieReserve.pdf
