American prairie. What's the issue?

[mtmuley]

Per their website, they currently own 167,000 acres and had over 82,000 acres enrolled in BM in 2025. Two minutes of Google fu is what that took.

Thanks for the two minutes. mtmuley

 

[Oak]

Thanks for the two minutes. mtmuley

Is that low as to their holdings?

 

[Nunjagottam]

82k acres is nothing to sneeze at. Also consider what amount of those acres were off limits prior to AP aquiring the land. And of course the increased acess to public across and through AP properties.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Based on how they’ve enrolled lands into BM after an initial period of limited or no access after a new property was purchased I expect their enrollment acreage to increase.

They generally take some time to get a feel for the health of local game populations and set management strategies accordingly. That can have an effect on how much hunting access is granted for a specific property.

 

[BrentD]

Key Examples of Bison Grazing on Public Lands:

• National Parks & Monuments:
  • Badlands National Park (South Dakota): Home to a large, free-roaming herd.
  • Wind Cave National Park (South Dakota): One of the nation's premier conservation herds.
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Dakota): Features scenic grazing along the Little Missouri River.
  • Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona): A herd grazes on the North Rim.
  • Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (Kansas): Manages a herd to restore prairie ecosystems.
  • Chickasaw National Recreation Area (Oklahoma): Features a small, managed herd.
• Federal Grasslands & Protected Areas:
  • Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (Illinois): The first U.S. Forest Service site to reintroduce bison for ecological restoration.
  • American Prairie / BLM land (Montana): Several allotments in Phillips County were authorized for bison grazing, including Telegraph Creek and Box Elder.

So there are parks, but BLM land, this is the only one. That is sort of what I thought.

An aside, I thought Tallgrass Prairie Preserve was a TNC property? Did that change, or was I just wrong from the get go?

 

[kwyeewyk]

So there are parks, but BLM land, this is the only one. That is sort of what I thought.

An aside, I thought Tallgrass Prairie Preserve was a TNC property? Did that change, or was I just wrong from the get go?

Google AI answer:

The Bureau of Land Management (.gov) has historically permitted bison grazing on allotments in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These other, more traditional operations differ from American Prairie by operating as commercial livestock producers rather than for conservation/restoration.
Key Details Regarding Other Authorized Bison Grazing:
Other Montana Operations: Beyond American Prairie, there have been over 30 other permits issued by the BLM in Montana authorizing bison grazing.
Other States: Permits exist in other Western states for commercial bison.
Distinction: The key difference is that other operations often resemble traditional cattle grazing (production-oriented).
Recent Legal Context: The recent 2026 revocation of American Prairie’s permits was based on the interpretation that their conservation-focused bison were not "domestic livestock" under the Taylor Grazing Act.
Therefore, while American Prairie's specialized, conservation-based permits faced scrutiny, other commercial, production-oriented bison grazing on BLM land has existed in various states.

 

[BrentD]

Google AI answer:

The Bureau of Land Management (.gov) has historically permitted bison grazing on allotments in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. These other, more traditional operations differ from American Prairie by operating as commercial livestock producers rather than for conservation/restoration.
Key Details Regarding Other Authorized Bison Grazing:
Other Montana Operations: Beyond American Prairie, there have been over 30 other permits issued by the BLM in Montana authorizing bison grazing.
Other States: Permits exist in other Western states for commercial bison.
Distinction: The key difference is that other operations often resemble traditional cattle grazing (production-oriented).

Therefore, while American Prairie's specialized, conservation-based permits faced scrutiny, other commercial, production-oriented bison grazing on BLM land has existed in various states.

While I do not trust AI based on past experience, this sounds like what I might have expected. Thanks.
If true, this is really an attack on conservation, not on bison per se. We see similar things happening with recent changes of mining policy in Minnesota. Apparently, conservation is synonymous with "woke".

 

[Big Fin]

The bison in the Henry Mountains are almost 100% on BLM lands. Seems to work there.

 

[BrentD]

The bison in the Henry Mountains are almost 100% on BLM lands. Seems to work there.

Are they owned by anyone that submits permits for them? In other words, are these permitted animals or are they like wild deer and elk? or are they like permitted private property such as AP's bison?

 

[Wildabeest]

Are they owned by anyone that submits permits for them? In other words, are these permitted animals or are they like wild deer and elk? or are they like permitted private property such as AP's bison?

They are wild and free ranging. Considered wild game and under management of UT DWR.

 

[mtmuley]

Is that low as to their holdings?

I don't think so. I need to Google if there is a map that breaks it down. Just curious so nobody get uptight. mtmuley

 

[Brad W]

I’m not a rangeland ecologist so maybe my eyes deceive me but I have spent time on some of their property over several seasons and the visual difference between their land and some of the neighboring ranches is pretty striking. Large, open expanses of short grass prairie vs heavily fenced pastures grazed to the dirt. As I watch many of the places I grew up hunting turn into developments I am glad they are trying to create something different