0 mi 5
0 km 5
640 acres
1 square mile
FORT BELKNAP
INDIAN RESERVATION
Pop. 3,182
ROCKY BOY’S
INDIAN RESERVATION
Pop. 3,794
Antoine Butte
5 ,743 ft
1 ,75 0 m
Missouri
675
Number of
cattle in county
Negative
bison easement
66
19
236
81
87
87
191
236
MARS
VISTA
COW
ISLAND
PN RANCH
Lewistown
Denton
Roy
Winifred
Hays
Pop. 1,006
Pop. 196Pop. 196
Pop. 243
Pop. 5,818
Pop. 124
FERGUSFERGUS
119,336
CHOUTEAU
37,644
BLAINE
70,698
JUDITH
BASIN CO.
FERGUS
CO.
BLAINE CO.
BL
AI
NE
C
O.
PHILLIPS CO.
CHO
UTE
AU^ C
O.
FER
GUS
CO.
CHOUTEAU CO.
HILL CO.
Blue
Heaven
Ranch
UPPER MISSOURI
RIVER BREAKS
NATIONAL MONUMENT
WAR HORSE
N.W.R.
(Bureau of Land Management)
RILEY D. CHAMPINE, NGM STAFF. SOURCES: MONTANA GIS; AMERICAN PRAIRIE RESERVE; USDA; KELLY STONER, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY; IUCN; WWF
TWO VISIONS COLLIDE
In 2017, 63 landowners signed
on to a “negative bison ease-
ment.” It forbids bison on their
properties for 20 years, even
if the land is bought by APR.
Blocking bison
Along with prohibitive ease-
ments, some locals have pushed
counties to impose require-
ments, such as disease testing
and branding, for bison.
Staking their claims
After the U.S. forced Native
Americans to cede their territo-
ries, settlers could claim plots of
160 to 640 acres for free via the
Homestead Act, starting in 1862.
is used for cattle ranching.
Many ranches include graz-
ing leases on nearby public
lands to stay in business.
The Bureau of Land
Management regulates
most public land in this
region. It oversees per-
mitting for grazing leases.
The Aaniiih and Nakoda tribes
of the Fort Belknap reservation
manage bison originally from
the wild herd in Yellowstone;
34 were transferred here in 2012.
About 82,000
acres of private
land are within
the monument.
231,000 ACRES
Total area of properties under
the negative bison easement
A cloud of conflict shadows a massive swath of grasslands
in Montana. The nonprofit American Prairie Reserve (APR) is
purchasing land and reintroducing native plants and herds of
bison to echo the wild state that existed before homesteaders
arrived in the 1800s. Many local ranchers, however, see the reserve
as a threat to their future and 150 years of cowboy tradition.
Federal designations,
such as a presidential order
to create a national monu-
ment, add an extra layer of
protection to some lands.
YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK
CANADA
MONTANA
UNITED STATES
GLACIER
N. P. MAP
Mis AREA
sou
ri
Bozeman
Private
land
Negative
bison easement
Public
land
Federal
designation