Despite pushback from Republicans American Prairie moving forward on rewilding tourism

American Prairie (APR) near Malta in north-central Montana got its first bison from Wind Cave National Park in occupied South Dakota in 2005. 

The group hopes to have native animals grazing on some 5000 square miles or about 3.2 million acres of private land including 63,000A. in Phillips County connected with corridors to federal land owned by the Bureau of Land Management and to the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Total land including the purchase of 34 ranches is as big as the State of Connecticut or the size of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks combined. Adjacent is the Fort Belknap Reservation where the Nakoda and the Aaniiih manage a range with more than a thousand bison so building a tourist destination helps economic development for the entire region.

Lewistown’s Main Street is still vibrant and bustling with a mix of retail and professional services. But in the heart of Montana ranching territory, the organization is determined to prove it’s not a bunch of out-of-state environmentalists. Instead, it’s an organization that sees Montana’s future tied to two unchanging truths: Folks will come from all over to see the big skies and wide open prairies. And without efforts to conserve the land, the entire state may be in trouble. American Prairie’s mission plays out on several fronts – from the herds of bison north of Lewistown in Phillips County to the public battles the organization has had to fight against Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Ultimately, American Prairie hopes that visitors use the discovery in conjunction with visiting the prairie lands. [American Prairie establishes national discovery center in the heart of Lewistown, despite pushback]

Despite most of the buffalo at the National Bison Range near Moiese, Montana being descendants of those crossed with European cattle breeds, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have long sought more active participation there rather than just through an annual funding agreement. But approaching a compact on a strict environmental tack enhanced tribal involvement could be tied to a future where genetic purity in NBR animals becomes such that they could join in broader rewilding efforts especially as the transfer of Yellowstone bison to reservations is restricted at the behest of entitled Republican welfare ranchers. 

The InterTribal Buffalo Council has been working for three decades to reintroduce bison to Indian tribes and has distributed about 20,000 buffalo over that period. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the council is planning its largest transfer of bison yet, 1,500 buffalo to tribes in six states. [Bison return program is now helping Native American ranchers build herds]

The CSKT claims 50 million acre feet of Montana's water and salmon could have been a valuable food source for tribes that were struggling with the near extinction of their main fare due to the federal government’s campaign to kill off bison in order to suppress tribes but 150 dams were erected on the Columbia River system instead.