That's a headline at the London Times.
Subheadline: "The American Prairie Foundation has had its license to graze conservation herds of bison on federal pastures revoked by the Department of the Interior."
From the text: "The Department of the Interior, which has a bison as its logo, has revoked the licence of a rewilding charity trying to restore the natural splendour of the 'American Serengeti,' the eco-diverse range of grasslands home to wolves, pronghorns, grizzly bears and mountain lions.... Doug Burgum, the secretary of the interior, who owns a ranch in neighbouring North Dakota, has favoured the arguments of cattle farmers eager to graze their cow herds on cheap federal lands instead...."
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57 comments:
This will go over like a lead balloon. Tho - I need more information. I don't trust the hack-D soviet press.
When Bison steak tastes as good as Cattle steak, the Bisons can have their grazing land back.
"Trump to deport hundreds of bison from Montana."
Why stop there? Let's not forget "unprecedented", "without a plan", "humiliated by the negotiations", "in contrast to accepted international norms", and "to the total surprise of our longstanding European allies".
Bison are plentiful in Yellow Stone. I see Bison herds in CO.
See Ted Turner and the "Buffalo Commons" concept.
In 1987 a couple "scholars" from New Jersey came up with a plan to transform a masive Great Plains agricultural region into a pre-European quasi National Park. I am not commenting on potential improvements to the ecosystem, merely that this is an anti-left, anti-urban, anti-eco-movement, anti-blue policy change.
Also see "Save a logger, eat an owl" from the 1990s.
https://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ii.008.html
Favoured...
A "rewilding charity"? Is that a euphemism for divorce?
I've read that Bison graze differently and are less damaging to the grasslands than cattle who eat everything down. I'd be fine with switching to Bison meat. I'm a cheap cuts carnivore anyway, but so far it costs more.
Moving cabinet departments to the heartland might help stop these kinds of rewilding schemes. If Interior Department bigwigs had to stop for massive herds on their commutes and check for wolfpacks before getting out of the car, they might not be so nostalgic about the Wild West. CC, JSM
"Jenkins, late again!" "Boss, I was gored by a mountain goat!" CC, JSM
Where do the buffalo roam?
I think it's a common misconception that "the public lands" - the areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management, under Interior - are primarily intended to be conservation projects. They're intended to be mixed-use. The NPS manages the lands set aside specifically for conservation, the Forest Service is under Agriculture, and the BLM does environmental impact studies before granting land use permits but does in fact allow things like four-wheeling, grazing, oil and gas drilling, and suchlike in addition to setting aside certain environmentally sensitive areas. When I interned with them back in the day, we had to go check on a nudist camp in one area. And my then-boyfriend's and my graduation trip after college was a camping trip to BLM land where locals had built hot tubs to take advantage of the hot springs in the area (which also kind of turned into a nudist camp at times). Basically lots of things happen on public lands.
I've spent a lot of time in the American West, where public lands are concentrated. It's big out here. Really, really big. Unimaginably big by European and East Coast standards.
(Today we're off to Capitol Reef NP, which only has like two paved roads. Last August we visited Roosevelt NP, which pretty much only has one. In a couple of weeks we'll be in Lamoille Canyon in the Ruby Mountains - heard of it or them? If they were in, say, Virginia, you would've - they're gorgeous. But they're in Eastern NV, where freeway offramps have cattle guards, so they only get to be a state park.)
I've also read that the huge Bison herds encountered when Europeans arrived were not historically normal, but a recent development cause by centuries of Native Americans hunting habits and deforestation fires that changed the ecology.
If Interior Department bigwigs had to stop for massive herds on their commutes and check for wolfpacks before getting out of the car,
Last night as we approached our Airbnb for the week, we had to drive through a section of grazing land set off by a cattle guard at each end with a herd of cattle milling around. Several of the babies, not yet sophisticated in the ways of cars, did the weave-and-dodge thing as we rolled past at a couple of miles an hour, bawling for their mothers to advise them.
bagoh20 said...
"I've read that Bison graze differently and are less damaging to the grasslands than cattle who eat everything down."
Sheep are deep grazers, cattle, not so much. Though Bison may be lighter
I, for one, want to see more Bison/tourist interactions. The look on peoples faces when they discover Bison aren't tame Disney characters.
" It's big out here. Really, really big. Unimaginably big by European and East Coast standards."
I moved out west in my early 20's, and I never looked back. I love the openness and ease of travel. I love all that sky and the endless dirt roads to unknown discoveries. Here in Nevada, I can just jump in my pickup and drive. 30 minutes from the Las Vegas strip and you are in the mountain desert wilderness and may not see another human the rest of the day. You also may not see a tree. I'm always impressed by how long you can drive even on the interstate without seeing any development. Endless miles of open land to the horizon without a structure, much of which is now getting covered with solar panels. I'd much rather have a nuclear plant taking up just a few acres.
Fermi Lab has a heard of Bison. The enclosure is made from telephone poles and 4X4s. Apparently Bison are assholes.
Trump administration is siding with Montana ranchers who complain the Bison compete with cattle for grazing land. Also, from AI, the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act allows for grazing livestock for production, not wildlife. With the current price of beef, this doesn't seem surprising.
Also says the bison currently can and do graze on private land already owned by American Prairie.
But the press, and liberals will bitch about both beef prices and "deporting" bison.
@bagoh2o:
The Europeans arrived in 1492 and hit many ports/coasts for several decades. They apparently freed pigs for later food sources (as typical with numerous islands), brought in rats, and brought in dogs. I've heard that European diseases spread through animal-to-animal contact prior to human contact. Some local populations may have died off from the animal transmission alone.
The Europeans exploring the interior would have encountered a recently smaller human population and the leftover animal consequences (e.g., Bison, Deer) from dead-and-dying native cultures.
Problem is those buffalos can't buy a pardon.
Hey, if it brings down the price of beef, I’m for it!
Gusty -
Thanks.
The earliest inhabitants of the continent also killed off whole species.
Deport. Abort. Choices.
Interesting case. From X, which I'll try to link. There is (unsurpringly) more to this than what the London Times reported.
RodeoProfessor on X:
"The reason ranching families, stockgrowers, and Montana lawmakers do not want American Prairie to run their conservation focused bison herd on BLM land begins with the fact that to purchase deeded ranches and obtain eligibility for BLM grazing, American Prairie got piles of cash from foreign and out of state donors. As a donor funded foundation, most of its cash comes from a Swiss born billionaire, a German billionaire, and high net worth individuals from NYC and SF. How would a regular rancher from Montana compete with that to purchase the ranches that would lead to preference for BLM? How would a 21 year old seventh generation rancher compete? When this NGO buys these deeded ranches, the associated grazing rights on BLM are automatically transferred.
There's also disagreement about whether the land needs to be used for productive purposes, which the bison don't fulfill.
Rodeo Professor on Bison Disputee
Which country is Trump deporting the bison to?
Does the story address the recent news that the American beef herd is at historic population lows right now? Did it touch on the recent investigations into the meat packers industry, which has been accused of monopolistic business practices that hurt ranching and consumers? Could this be part of a larger policy story on getting beef prices down by changing the business playing field? Could it be part of a larger story on foreign-based Progressive NGOs trying to drive down meat consumption through indirect methods? Or was it just a smear piece?
Aggie said... Or was it just a smear piece
It's a smear piece. Thus the word "deport" in the headline.
We don't need foreigners buying up grazing or farm land. Nor do we need billionaries and Private venture captial doing it.
When I was a kid and we would go out to dinner, I'd ask, "Mom, can I get the fried shrimp"? She would say, "NO, YOU'RE NOT ORDERING THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING ON THE MENU! You can get a hamburger."
Today, a lb of shrimp is the same or cheaper than a lb of ground beef.
It's a childhood dream come true.
Anyone want a adorable pomeranian dog? A bit larger than most, young, high energy, needs training but is super sweet.
Free to a good home.
"Deport"
Remigration
Deport is an interesting word choice because de-port would be to remove via a port and sent to another location. But here they are just being moved to the same place (the United States) but a different part. Relocation, perhaps.
Another reminder the media uses language not to communicate but manipulate.
We now have plenty of bison meat in this country. When I met my partner some 25 years ago, I would bring her bison meat from CO on the plane to AZ, because she couldn’t get it here. Now, in MT and CO, bison steaks are just a little higher in price than beef, and, at least in the west, all of the groceries carry bison burger meat.
Have always lived around them. When my daughter was very young, I would drive around the Denver Parks bison preserve to put her to sleep (apparently they are some of the very rare full blooded bison in the country). And we have the National Bison Preserve in the east end of the county in MT.
West of Bismarck ND, The Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grassland have lots of space for buffalo herds, and, as a side attraction, prairie dogs.
If Harry Reid or Pelosi or Bernie Sanders stood to gain - we'd hear nothing of it - or praise of it.
MSM --> go stuff it.
...it's always looked like a subsidy to me, with the ranchers full of entitlement. It's hard to mix use when ranchers insist on grazing everywhere...
People vs Activists
Collect the “hundreds of bison” and release them in central London.
baghdadbob said...
When Bison steak tastes as good as Cattle steak, the Bisons can have their grazing land back.
Bison meat tasted better.
Of course, that's an opinion matter. YMMV.
I don't know anything about it, but -- Shouldn't the Federal government be leasing the land to the highest bidder if they aren't going to create a national park?
I'd support the highest local bidder.
I’m guessing Trump knows even less about the geography of Montana than he does the geography of Iran, but I confess as a Westerner I’m biased against East Coast politicians.
Send them to Ottawa.
“Bob B said...
Collect the “hundreds of bison” and release them in central London.”
Or Central Park, except that Trump likes NYC for some reason.
Well Ezra Klein and other progressives might tell you that the Bad Orange Man selected those bison for "deportation" because they are brown. Animals of color hurt worst.
Peachy, are you giving away Donald Tusk? CC, JSM
There might be some room for a few in Golden Gate Park. Last time I went by the Bison Paddock there were only a handful.
Some years ago, my husband and I had a smoked foods deli as a sideline from his plumbing/well business. Smoked trout was one of our top sellers. Also a favorite was Bison (domestically raised and slaughtered). Smoked bbq Bison ribs. Bison burgers. Bison tastes really quite good. A little bit leaner than a highly marbled top grade rib eye steak. But still very flavorful.
I've had Bison. I don't remember it being better than regular beef. Its OK. Better than pork or venison.
Yes, Bison where all live in about 2 dollar more a pound. Not really worth the extra expense. But maybe smoked is better.
Hundreds of bison? We “deport” thousands of wild horses in the west, and a large number are killed. You can’t let animals without predators grow forever, like deer. So there is a need for b-ICE-on.
I am quite disgusted with the easterners who have turned their states into massive concrete objects and then say the west can’t do things commercially on land because they want a place to go on vacation due to the squalor they live in. The west is not your personal Wild West Disney Land. There are plenty of national parks.
Beef is too expensive! they say. But NO COWS
The American Prairie Foundation has been buying land along the Missouri River in Montana. They pay above market prices for land, which is good for the sellers, but bad for people who want to be in the beef business. The cattle market has a cycle in both prices and stocks. Beef prices are at an all time high (calf prices may hit $5/lb), while beef stocks are lower than they have been since the 1950s.
I spent the morning driving from my brother's 600-head beef ranch north of the river to my home in southern Montana, where I look across the valley at Ted Turner's bison ranch (my standard joke is that between Ted and I, we own most of the valley; I have 3 acres, Ted has 30,000 acres). There are signs along the road near the town of Winifred saying "Save the Cowboy: Say `No' to APF." But APF isn't the only one buying ranches. A lot of money out of the midwest is buying local ranches for hunting purposes or as hobby farms. Most of these run far fewer cattle than would a rancher trying to maximize long term profits, given what his grass and hay can support. Pasture land prices since 1997 have risen four-fold in nominal terms and two-fold in inflation adjusted terms.
This is one reason I don't believe the normal cattle cycle is going to bring back down beef prices like it has historically. There just are too many competing uses for the land. The APR ruling is based upon the Taylor Grazing Act which requires "productive" use of the land. But whatever Trump does will be overturned by the next Democratic administration, or by some federal judge since we are in the Ninth Circuit.
As for the issue of whether bison are more ecologically attuned than cattle, the bison didn't have any fences, so they moved on when land was grazed down. But if they are confined to a specific area, as will be the case as long as private property exists, they too will overgraze if left unmanaged. A lot of what a modern rancher does is to manage his grass by moving cattle from one pasture to another to mimic the way the bison herds moved in their era. The other main thing a rancher does is to provide hay for winter feeding. The bison had to move north and south over great migrations to solve that problem. That is not possible with what APR so far has money to obtain. Of course, an AOC administration might be more amenable to just confiscating the land and turning it all into a park for the bison.
The last Eastern Bison was killed in West Virginia in 1825.
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