American Prairie is pleased to announce its newly acquired property, Wild Horse, is open for public use and has been enrolled in the Block Management Program managed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP).

The 4,960-acre Wild Horse property was purchased earlier this year and borders the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Korsbeck Waterfowl Production Area. The inclusion of Wild Horse expands American Prairie’s total enrollment in Block Management (BMA) to 82,551 acres for the upcoming hunting season. The nonprofit conservation organization is one of the largest landowners participating in BMA.

“Public access is a core tenant of our mission at American Prairie, and we are pleased to be able to share the wildlife-rich Wild Horse property,” said Alison Fox, CEO of American Prairie. “Whether you hunt, fish, hike or birdwatch, we are committed to creating more opportunities for everyone to experience the American prairie and its world-class wildlife.”

DIVERSE PROPERTIES ENROLLED IN BLOCK MANAGEMENT

With the inclusion of Wild Horse, eleven American Prairie properties are now enrolled in Block Management for the 2023 hunting season. These units provide diverse opportunities for hunters seeking access to Central Montana’s grasslands, ponderosa ridges, rolling prairie and Missouri River breaks country.

For the past five years, American Prairie has worked with FWP to expand hunting opportunities by enrolling newly acquired properties into the program, including the 73 in 2022. Sixty-five percent of the organization’s private deeded lands are currently enrolled. Since 2018, American Prairie has expanded its enrolled block management inventory by over 300 percent.

“The Block Management Program is widely considered to be one of Montana’s most effective tools to provide public access to private lands,” said Mike Kautz, American Prairie’s Director of Public Access and Recreation. “It is a valuable partnership that helps us collaboratively manage wildlife and provide access to phenomenal habitat.”

A full list of American Prairie’s 2023 BMA inventory is below and more information about enrolled properties can be found at https://http://www.americanprairie.org/hunting.

BISON HARVESTS AND SPECIAL ELK HUNTS AWARDED

American Prairie is also pleased to announce additional opportunities have been awarded to harvest bison and hunt elk on deeded properties that are not enrolled in the Block Management program.

That includes awarding 17 bison harvest opportunities to applicants who entered the organization’s annual public drawing. Over 3,700 people entered the free public drawing this year, breaking the previous record set in 2021. This year, all opportunities were randomly awarded to Montana residents while six additional harvests were donated to other local charitable organizations.

In addition, 18 elk hunts have been awarded for the 9,695-acre Blue Ridge Special Management Area. While the majority of American Prairie’s deeded land is enrolled in Block Management, hunting on the wildlife-rich Blue Ridge property is managed by a special free lottery to facilitate lower-pressure hunting opportunities and access to world-class elk.

The free drawing was open to any hunters who already possessed a permit in districts

620-20, 620- 21, 622-20, or a 622-01 youth elk permit. For the 2023 season, 8 archery permit holders and 8 rifle permit holders have been awarded an opportunity to hunt bull elk. American Prairie also offered two additional permits for youth-only antlerless elk hunts.

All of American Prairie’s deeded lands are also open to walk through for access to adjacent public lands.

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About American Prairie

American Prairie’s vision is to create a vast and collaboratively-managed prairie destination that serves as a fully functioning ecosystem for wildlife, and offers visitors permanent access to the landscape that shaped our nation’s character. Already open to the public for recreation including camping and hunting, American Prairie offers visitors an opportunity to connect with nature on a truly grand scale. Learn more at americanprairie.org.

Contact:         Beth Saboe

Senior Public Relations Manager

Phone:           406-600-4906

Email:             [email protected]