Montana BLM Grazing Leases

Who Controls Montana’s Public Grazing Land?

For the first time, explore an interactive visualization of every BLM grazing allotment in Montana—and see which ranchers and companies hold the permits.

How to Use the Map

The interactive map displays all BLM grazing allotments in Montana using a cluster system that groups nearby allotments together for easier navigation.

Understanding the Clusters

When you first open the map, you’ll see colored circles with numbers. These are clusters representing groups of allotments:

• The number inside each circle shows how many allotments are grouped in that area
• Circle colors indicate allotment sizes in that cluster:
  • 🔵 Blue — Smaller allotments (1,000–9,999 acres)
  • 🟠 Orange — Medium allotments (10,000–24,999 acres)
  • 🔴 Red — Large allotments (25,000–49,999 acres)
  • 🟣 Purple — Very large allotments (50,000+ acres)

Navigating the Map

1. Click any cluster to zoom in and see smaller groupings or individual allotments
2. Keep clicking to drill down until you see individual allotment markers
3. Click an individual marker to see details: allotment name, operator, acreage, and AUMs
4. Use the +/- buttons or scroll to zoom manually
5. Drag the map to pan around Montana

Tip: The eastern half of Montana (Miles City, Billings areas) has the densest concentration of BLM grazing allotments.

Why This Resource is Unique

What Exists Elsewhere

Source	What They Offer	What’s Missing
BLM RAS Reports (reports.blm.gov)	Tabular data: operator names, authorization numbers, AUMs	No maps, no rankings, no visualization
BLM GIS Hub (gbp-blm-egis.hub.arcgis.com)	Allotment boundary maps	Does NOT show who holds the leases
PEER Rangeland Map (peer.org)	21,000 allotments with rangeland health status	Shows land condition, NOT operators
ProPublica Investigation (Dec 2025)	Named largest national permit holders (Kroenke, Murdoch, Simplot)	No public database, no state-level tool

What Honest Cattle Provides

Our Montana visualization is the only public resource that combines:

• ✅ Geographic visualization — See allotments on an interactive map
• ✅ Operator identification — Know WHO holds each lease
• ✅ State-specific data — All 8 Montana BLM field offices consolidated
• ✅ Searchable and explorable — Click through 3,947 allotments
• ✅ Free and public — No paywall, no FOIA request needed

Montana BLM Grazing: By the Numbers

3,643 Active Operators

3,947 Grazing Allotments

26.4M Acres Mapped

8 Field Offices

Operators by BLM Field Office

Field Office	Active Operators	% of Total
Miles City	1,694	46.5%
Lewistown	547	15.0%
Billings	300	8.2%
Havre	298	8.2%
Malta	293	8.0%
Dillon	241	6.6%
Butte	202	5.5%
Missoula	68	1.9%
Total	3,643	100%

Largest Grazing Lease Holders in Montana

Based on permitted Animal Unit Months (AUMs) from BLM’s Rangeland Administration System:

Rank	Operator	Acres	AUMs	Field Office(s)
1	CRC Montana, LLC	7,000	1,750	Lewistown / Malta
2	Falls Coulee, LLC	5,000	1,250	Dillon
3	Russell, Louis (LP Reed Ranch)	4,600	1,150	Dillon
4	Arthur, Michelle	4,200	1,050	Dillon
5	Steppler, Verlin & Cody	4,200	1,050	Lewistown
6	Peters, Roger and Carrie Ann	4,100	1,025	Butte
7	Nesselhuf, John W & Marjorie A	3,900	975	Dillon
8	Lemhi Frontier	3,800	950	Butte
9	Oedekoven Family Trust	3,600	900	Malta
10	Holden Land and Livestock, LLC	6,372	796	Billings

Note: Holden Land and Livestock ranks #10 by AUMs but #2 by total acreage, reflecting differences in carrying capacity across allotments.

Why Public Land Grazing Data Matters

In December 2025, ProPublica and High Country News published a major investigation revealing that roughly two-thirds of all BLM grazing acreage nationwide is controlled by just 10% of permit holders. The investigation named billionaires like Stan Kroenke (LA Rams owner) and Rupert Murdoch, plus corporations like J.R. Simplot Co., as among the largest beneficiaries of below-market federal grazing fees.

However, that investigation—impressive as it was—did not create a public tool for exploring the data. Journalists, researchers, and citizens who want to know who holds grazing leases in their state still have to file FOIA requests or manually query BLM’s clunky database systems.

Honest Cattle is building what should already exist: a free, public, state-by-state visualization of who controls grazing on America’s public lands.

Montana is our first state. More are coming.

Data Sources & Methodology

This visualization combines data from official BLM sources:

• BLM Rangeland Administration System (RAS) — Operator names, authorization numbers, permitted AUMs, addresses (where releasable)
• BLM GIS Data Hub — Allotment boundaries, geographic coordinates, acreage calculations
• Montana BLM Field Offices — Billings, Butte, Dillon, Havre, Lewistown, Malta, Miles City, Missoula

All data is derived from public records. Operator contact information is included only where BLM has marked it as releasable. Data current as of January 2026.

Questions or feedback? Contact Honest Cattle