Montana’s American Prairie preserving what was and still remains

American Prairie owns about 600,000 acres of deeded and leased prairie in north central Montana. Most, if not all, of this land was previously closed to public access. Now, it’s open to public hunting, camping and other recreational uses, and it’s free! Where are the hunters in this debate? In a time when lack of public access seriously threatens the sport of hunting, they should be publicly worshiping American Prairie.

The main reason naysayers have this irrational fear is American Prairie’s plan to restore free-roaming bison herds. Currently, the organization runs about 900 certified brucellosis-free bison on only 46,000 acres. It manages cattle grazing on much of the rest of its holdings, raising 7,000 cattle in partnership with local ranchers. Again, hunters benefit. The organization allows hunters to annually harvest a small number of bison.