Creating Access and Restoring Wildlife

Dear Editor,

Every person in Montana, regardless of income, deserves an opportunity to enjoy our great outdoors.

That's why I'm happy to report that two recent developments at American Prairie have made it easier for all Americans to access their prairie grasslands and enjoy native wildlife now and into the future.

New Public Access

on 73 Ranch

In mid-July, we announced the public is welcome to access and enjoy the historic 73 ranch. American Prairie purchased the 73 in late 2021. It's a beautiful property which supports healthy populations of elk, mule deer, pronghorn, turkeys, pheasants, and waterfowl.

To help facilitate the public's access to this property we have enrolled nearly 10,000 acres into Montana's block management hunter program, making it available for big game hunters this fall. In addition, by allowing the general public to travel throughout the property, we unlocked an additional 9,300 acres of public lands which previously sat behind no trespassing signs.

Creating new access to the 73 is consistent with how we manage the majority of our lands. In a time of shrinking public access opportunities, we believe in improving the status-quo. It's our hope that anyone who wants can visit and enjoy this property and the adjacent public lands.

Access to Wildlife

and Restoring Bison

A more recent announcement was good news for Montana's native wildlife. In late July, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved our request to graze bison across 63,000 acres of public lands where we have grazing privileges. This is the third time in more than a decade that we have been legally authorized to use our federal grazing privileges to sustainably and safely grow our private bison herd.

But approving this decision was not an easy process. It took over four years of analysis and public comment. There were no less than five public meetings and over 5,000 comments were eventually submitted.

Our application was vetted, modified, and re-vetted by hunters, economists, biologists, land managers, and thousands of people who care about our nation's wildlife and public lands. We are thankful for everyone who participated in this robust and well-documented public process.

Is everyone happy with the final decision? No. But ultimately, the BLM is charged with acting on facts, science, and the law. In this case, the decision was supported by every state and federal law in the book. The science is also indisputable. Bison grazing on these public lands will improve conditions for other wildlife like elk, muledeer, and sage grouse. That's not opinion, it's just fact.

Supporting Montana

Agriculture

Unlocking public access and restoring native wildlife is important work for all Americans. But in a place like Central Montana, it's very important to also support local production agriculture which drives the regional economy.

We have a clear responsibility to keep our bison free of disease, for the health of our herd and neighboring cattle. And we will continue to work with Phillips County officials to showcase our robust disease management efforts, which includes testing more animals and sharing more information with local producers than ever before.

Sincerely,

Damien Austin

Damien Austin was born in Billings and now lives in central Montana where he serves as vice president and superintendent of American Prairie.