Why We’re Suing the Bureau of Land Management to Stop Deforestation and Burning Across 905,000 Acres of Southwest Montana

Big Hole River, western Montana. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

If a person illegally burns something, it is called arson. But when the federal government decides to deforest and burn unspecified areas within a 905,000-acre area to create more grass for cattle, it’s called a “vegetation management project.”

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) authorized one of these so-called “vegetation management projects” for its 905,000-acre field office in southwest Montana without identifying the specific locations...