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A heartfelt thank you from one of our members

We received the following thank you note in response to Mark Robbins’ recent opinion piece in the Billings Gazette, shared in its entirety below: Dear Mark: I want to offer a big, heart-felt thank you for your well-written article in the Billings Gazette re: “Don’t transport bison out of Yellowstone Park”, Feb. 18, 2016. And of course, in true Billings Gazette/’Pravda’ fashion, it was followed by a Gazette opinion on Feb. 20th, ‘Fort Peck ready to quarantine Yellowstone bison’.  Yes, sometimes it seems it never will end, but anyone who can THINK, sees the truth in what you say, and the utter fallacies proposed by the Gazette. As landowners/farmers in that area of Fort Peck, the bison issue has been a constant presence for more years than I...

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UPOM Oped: Don’t transport bison out of Yellowstone Park

UPOM’s Mark Robbins responds to the Billings Gazette’s call for transferring YNP bison to Eastern Montana.  Here’s an excerpt: The Billings Gazette editorialized in support of creating a brucellosis testing facility on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. (“An Alternative to Yellowstone Bison slaughter” Feb. 14). Rather than addressing the root problem —poor federal management practices that has led to a severe overpopulation of bison in the park — the Gazette advocates simply moving the problem somewhere else. It’s a ludicrous proposition. It won’t fix what’s wrong at Yellowstone National Park. And worse, it will create the exact same problem in northeastern Montana. And let’s correct one big point the Gazette got wrong. These are not animals that have been proven...

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UPOM comments to NPS on proposal to establish brucellosis testing facility on Fort Peck Reservation

Under a new proposal from the National Park Service, Yellowstone Park bison that have been exposed to brucellosis could be transferred to testing facilities at locations across Montana.  The first proposed location is on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. To be clear, these are animals that have not been ruled brucellosis free.  The proposal is to quarantine and test the animals for the disease for a period of time, after which they would be released as wild, free-roaming bison on the Reservation. Rule 1 in preventing a disease’s proliferation is to isolate the disease to one area.  It makes no sense to transfer brucellosis-exposed bison to other parts of Montana. UPOM has strongly objected to this proposal for the obvious dangers it presents to Montana’s agriculture...

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UPOM files protest with BLM over APR grazing permit

UPOM has filed a protest against the BLM’s proposal to adopt an application by the American Prairie Reserve to remove interior fencing and allow year-round grazing on certain allotments.  APR’s application also indicates their desire to switch the classification of the bison they own from livestock to wild, free-roaming bison. UPOM’s protest is the first step in stopping the APR’s grazing permit change.  It establishes standing for us in the event BLM goes forward with adopting the proposal even with the strong protest against it. You can download UPOM’s official protest letter by clicking here.

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Senator Tester needs to take a stand against WOTUS

By Deanna Robbins Imagine a scenario where Montana farmers and ranchers have to apply to a federal bureaucrat in order to plow a field, or build a fence, or move cattle from one pasture to another. It sounds ridiculous, and it is. But this crazy notion has made its way from the radical environmentalists’ wish list into an actual rule proposal from President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency. If they are successful with this rule, known as Waters of the United States (or WOTUS), the EPA will be given expanded regulatory authority over any land use and farming practices near any body of water, down to prairie potholes and ephemeral streams (those that only have water during heavy rains). With this jurisdictional rule there would be no limit on EPA’s determination of what...

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FWP should help landowners with problematic wildlife

The last few decades in Montana have seen a remarkable recovery in wildlife populations. For example, Montana’s elk population was down to almost 20,000 animals in 1940. By 1970, it had increased somewhat to 55,000. But after that, we’ve seen rapid growth to nearly 160,000 animals today. That’s simply an astounding recovery. And other species, like deer and antelope, are at or near all-time highs as well. The restoration of Montana wildlife is due to a number of factors, but the predominant reason is the efforts of Montana landowners. A great deal of the credit goes to private property owners for changing management practices and improving habitat.  

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