Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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Dear Editor, Every person in Montana, regardless of income, deserves an opportunity to enjoy our great outdoors. That's why I'm happy to report that two recent developments at American Prairie have made it easier for all Americans to access their prairie grasslands and enjoy native wildlife now and into the future. New Public Access on 73 Ranch In mid-July, we announced the public is welcome to access and enjoy the historic 73 ranch. American Prairie purchased the 73 in late 2021. It's a...
On Aug. 26, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen asked a federal board to overturn the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to grant a permit change allowing bison grazing in Phillips County. The permit is a part of the American Prairie Reserve’s broader effort to expand bison grazing on the plains across northern and eastern Montana. Attorney General Knudsen’s appeal asks the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Hearings and Appeals to overturn the decision and issue a stay until the appeal is resolved to prevent irreparable harm t...
The Bureau of Land Management issued a final decision on July 28 for a bison grazing proposal involving seven allotments in Phillips County, held by American Prairie, which allows for bison grazing on six of the seven allotments. The Telegraph Creek, Box Elder, Flat Creek, White Rock, French Coulee, Garey Coulee and East Dry Fork allotments – a total of approximately 63,500 acres of BLM-administered lands – currently provide 7,969 animal unit months of permitted use. One common allotment grazed with another livestock operator would remain app...
Dear Editor, There is a saying in northeastern Montana that a couple of good rains make every rancher a good grass manager. The converse is that a couple of years of severe drought show who the good grass managers really are. Over the years grazing management has morphed from continuous grazing to incorporating rest periods to facilitate vegetation recovery. Often, during periods of ideal growing conditions, the benefits of rest periods are not readily noticeable. However, they really show up...
Dear Editor, After four years of analysis and public input, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued their proposed decision on American Prairie's application to restore bison across 63,000 acres of public lands in north central Montana. As Director of Bison Restoration for American Prairie, it is my job to manage those bison as an ecological tool to benefit wildlife, protect our public lands, and improve the prairies where they graze. My team does this work by relying on sound science,...
The following letter written by the Valley County Commissioners was sent to Field Manager Tom Darrington at the Bureau of Land Management Malta Office on April 13. Tom Darrington, Field Manager Bureau of Land Management Malta Field Office 50 I South Second Street East Malta, Montana 59538 4/13/2022 Dear Tom Darrington, The Valley County Commissioners protest your Notice of Proposed Decision concerning APR’s grazing applications in southern Phillips County. We believe your decision is in error because it would establish a precedent for p...
Dear Editor, Unfortunately, the stars are lining up for the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) grandiose plan to rewild the Northern Great Plains. Their pilot project in northeastern Montana, being coordinated by their spin-off, the American Prairie Reserve (APR), has recently received a shot in the arm. Emails, via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), detailed the cozy relationship between the Bullock administration and the APR. Now two former members of the Bullock administration are heading the...
U.S. Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Matt Rosendale wrote a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Debra Haaland and Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning on April 4 urging to extend the protest period on the proposed decision affecting grazing allotments on the American Prairie Reserve in Phillips County. The full letter is below: April 4, 2022 The Honorable Debra Haaland Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240 The Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning Director Bureau of Land Management...
This article contains information provided by the Bureau of Land Management, Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Montana Public Lands Council. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has issued a proposed decision on a bison grazing proposal involving seven allotments in Phillips County, Mont., held by American Prairie (AP). In conjunction with the proposed decision, the BLM released an associated Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The Telegraph Creek, Box Elder, Flat Creek, White Rock, French Coulee,...
Dear Editor, In the next few weeks, it is believed that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be releasing its Record of Decision (ROD) on the American Prairie Reserve's (APR) application for bison grazing in south Phillips County. Based on the language in the draft Environmental Assessment BLM released last year, it is likely that BLM will approve some form of APR's application for bison grazing on its federal allotments. BLM's anticipated decision comes as no surprise given the multiple...
Biden Intends to Rescind Keystone XL Permit JAN. 20 - In yet another setback to TC Energy and the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, CBC in Canada was first to report on Jan. 17 confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's intent to rescind the KXL pipeline permit. Biden campaigned on canceling the Canadian pipeline project, which will run through Valley County, after having opposed it during his time as Vice President under President Barack Obama. Obama punted the controversial political...
Hovering directly above the remains of a tyrannosaurid discovered in the Badlands of Valley County, helicopter pilot Rob Sperry needed to remain stationary as archaeologist Josh Chase connected a steel cable hanging from the Chinook to the steel frame on the ground containing the fossils. Not only did Chase need to be wary of the cable and hook –weighing in excess of 100 pounds and potentially becoming a wrecking ball – but of the electricity generated by the helicopter. "That helicopter gen...
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is worried the American Prairie Reserve's (APR) bison grazing change of use permit proposal could have a disastrous economic impact on Valley County farmers and Ranchers. "I think it moves in that direction, that is the concern," Knudsen told The Courier over the phone late last week. "One of the big concerns I have is there seems to be two different sets of rules. There is a set of rules for farmers and ranchers who have these federal allotments, and...
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 stopped by the Malta High School Auditorium to give citizens a chance to comment on a grazing issue involving Bison, the American Prairie Reserve, and the Bureau of Land Management. Phillipts County News (a sister newspaper of The Courier) caught up with Montana AG Knudsen after the event. "It went great," Knudsen said. "We had a huge turnout, way bigger than we expected." The event, which hosted over 250 concerned citizens, gave those...
Lately, deliberate misrepresentations have been circulating regarding American Prairie’s proposal to graze bison on six federal allotments in Phillips County. While most Montanan’s who have commented thus far clearly welcome our proposal, some remain committed to a misinformation campaign based on rumors and misdirection. This only serves to perpetuate divisions and erode our civic fabric. As such, I am compelled to set the record straight. The Bureau of Land Management can issue grazing permits or leases and modify existing permits to sub...
Out in the Badlands of Valley County lie the last remains of a herd of duck-billed dinosaurs. No one knows for sure how the little group of Hadrosaurids met their end. But, paleontologists from the Badlands Dinosaur Museum of Dickinson, North Dakota are collecting forensic evidence to make a best guess. "They had a bad day somehow," Dr. Denver Fowler, PhD., Curator of the Badlands Dinosaur Museum, told The Courier during a recent visit to the dig site. "A little herd of them all died. All the...
FOR THE COURIER Grizzly bears have the potential to be found anywhere in the western two-thirds of Montana (west of Billings), and their distribution is denser and more widespread than in previous years. Some areas with dense concentrations of grizzly bears are very accessible to hunters, especially during the archery season. Keep these precautions in mind when hunting in grizzly country: Carry and know how to use bear spray. Keep it within easy reach and be prepared to use it immediately. Stay alert, especially when hearing or visibility is...
FOR THE COURIER HELENA – Hunters are now able to obtain the 2021 Block Management Area (BMA) program information. Hunters are encouraged to request their 2021 BMA Access Guide online and download or print individual BMA maps at fwp.mt.gov/BMA. By utilizing the FWP website fwp.mt.gov/BMA, hunters will have instant access to the Access Guide and up-to-date BMA maps and rules for every individual BMA enrolled in the program. “Obtaining these individual BMA maps and rules via our website are key to successfully utilizing the BMA program as not all...
The Three Valley Commissioners have approved a resolution opposing the federal government’s “30x30” land preservation goal. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 27 he said would help restore balance on public lands and waters, create jobs and provide a path to align the management of America’s public lands and waters with the nation’s climate, conservation and clean energy goals. “We are concerned because we have this sudden goal with huge changes,” Chairman John Fahlgren said during the regular commission meeting May 1...
A citizen committee is in the process of being formed to address complaints about youths on dirt bikes disturbing the tranquility of homeowners north of Glasgow. Dirt bikers are a common sight in the undeveloped area between Airport and Skylark roads, and have been for decades, residents say. Now, a large portion of the city owned parcel of land there has been closed to public use due to liability issues and allegedly poor behavior by some riders. That leaves only the 40-acre recreation area one mile north of the city, owned by the Bureau of...
The Valley County Conservation District has been trying to alert their constituents, and others, about how the federal government is succeeding in taking the vested water rights away from the Federal Grazing District allotment holders without any just compensation. The feds were aided by our Montana Water Court and the Montana Supreme Court which both ruled in favor of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Beaver Creek (south Phillips and Valley counties) adjudication. These courts may...
Dear Editor, It's not about values. I believe Senator Daines when he says he joins the majority of Montanans who value public land, protecting it for this and future generations. There are few values as "Montana" as public lands and very few things that we all agree on more. In the latest (2020) Colorado College Poll of the West, 84 percent of Montanans agree that public lands are important when deciding whether to support an elected official. You can't get to 84 percent of anything without a...
Lightning set off a wildfire on Bureau of Land Management land west of the Pines Recreation area on Fort Peck Lake the night of Aug 20 or early morning on Aug. 21, according to Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Fire Manager Don Pyrah. Pyrah said the blaze was sparked during a lightning storm that rolled through the area last Thursday evening and early Friday morning and had grown throughout the day Friday. Glasgow's Long Run Fire Department and the Pines Fire Department...
Dear Editor, The Water Use Act (Act), passed by the Montana Legislature in 1973, mainly dealt with free flowing streams, irrigation and ground water. It did not address livestock water use. So why is this an issue? Irrigation from free flowing streams requires a specific point of diversion and a specific place of use. Priority dates and the amount of water allocated to a user become important when drought conditions reduce the amount of water in the stream. Similarly, ground water can become an...
Dear Editor, You may recall that I wrote an article a few weeks ago that exposed the attempt by the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) to illegally give our ranchers' vested stockwater rights to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Well, we are not alone! I just read an article in the June 20, 2020, Tri-State Livestock News by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) that detailed what was happening with stockwater rights in Idaho. First, a bit of history. In 1987 the Idaho Water...
