On January 16th, 2026 Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a Notice of Proposed Decision revoking seven Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grazing allotment permits held by American Prairie for Buffalo. Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) has been watching this issue closely as it plays out. A recent New York Times article brought this backdoor political deal into sharper focus across the nation.
American Prairie has been grazing Buffalo on BLM allotments for years based on the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act. Let's not forget, BLM allotments are your public land! And part of the 640 million acres of public land in this country - also under threat by current federal policies.
Sec. Burgum’s new politically expedient claim is that Buffalo are wildlife and the allotment permits must be revoked.
Wild Yellowstone Buffalo as a wildlife species is a claim BFC has held for three decades. And that as a wildlife species, Buffalo should be roaming free as do all other wildlife.
The State of Montana declares Buffalo livestock with management authority in the Montana Department of Livestock (MCA 81-2-120) rather than the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. Yet, the Montana Fish and Wildlife and Parks sells wildlife Buffalo hunting tags annually. Hmmm…
Confused yet? Yeah, us too. Apparently, Buffalo can be declared whatever is most convenient to maintain the decades-old zero tolerance of bison in Montana. It’s a catch-22. Sometimes Buffalo are not wildlife; sometimes Buffalo are not livestock. So what are they?
No country for a National Mammal. No heritage for the country.
The ambiguity appears intentional. This is not a hard puzzle unless it's being made intentionally hard. There are dozens of private elk herds in Montana and the West and there are also free roaming elk as wildlife. Note, elk transfer brucellosis to cattle regularly, bison do not - there are no documented cases, it’s a myth. (Check out the Montana regulations for private elk herd management by the FWP, not the Department of Agriculture. Further, there is no state regulatory population management of private elk herds.)
Buffalo are a pawn in an age-old political shell game catering to a special interest - the livestock industry - and their capture of Buffalo management statewide including the broken US Park Service bison management plan. Yet, BFC and tribal Buffalo Nations know this is nothing new; just business as usual. This move hasn’t gone unnoticed by Tribal Nations who have, on mass, protested this new politically convenient interpretation of the Taylor Grazing Act and potential threat to tribal Buffalo herds.
Buffalo have been under attack in Montana for decades. Why? And, the current administration has quadrupled the import of cheap beef. This doesn't square.
Still, the ‘sacred cow’ of the livestock industry gets its way in all cases. The sacred Buffalo has no home. And no acceptable identity or designation, only zero tolerance. Sounds familiar on many levels.
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