National Geographic Interactive - 02.2020

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