American Prairie Public Bison Harvest Drawing

American Prairie is pleased to again offer an annual public bison harvest on its Sun Prairie property, with an added opportunity for five recipients to take a bison of any age. The bison harvest is in addition to the existing hunting opportunities American Prairie provides on its lands.

This year, American Prairie is offering a total of 22 opportunities in the drawing, with most being awarded in such a way that gives preference to the people who live and work in Montana and the communities surrounding the conservation organization’s habitat base.

“In the past year, our bison herd has surpassed a new milestone and has grown to over 900 bison,” said Scott Heidebrink, Director of Bison Restoration for American Prairie. “Our herd is healthy, and diverse in age so we’re comfortable to once again allow older animals of either sex to be taken.”

Five of the twenty-two opportunities will be “any bison” where the harvester can choose a bison of any sex or age to harvest. The remainder will continue to be bison less than two years of age.

American Prairie is awarding bison harvest opportunities through an online drawing that is free to enter. Harvests will be designated as follows: SIX opportunities to local residents, ELEVEN to Montana residents, THREE to members of Montana’s Indigenous communities, and TWO to the general public worldwide. Four additional harvest opportunities are being donated to Montana charities to benefit those organizations or deserving individuals.

The drawing is free to enter, and registrants awarded the opportunity to harvest are required to pay a non-refundable fee of $300. Eligible individuals must fill out and submit the form by 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2024. The recipients will be randomly selected on July 8, 2024.

“Every year we see more and more interest from the public in harvesting a bison,” said Heidebrink. “We know what a very unique opportunity this is and we’ve consistently received positive feedback from hunters who say it is a terrific experience.”

Local Area Resident Drawing

Montana residents age 18 and older of Blaine, Chouteau, Fergus, Garfield, Petroleum, Phillips, and Valley counties are welcome to enter a drawing for one of SIX opportunities to harvest a bison from American Prairie.

Montana State-Wide Drawing

Montana residents age 18 and older are welcome to enter a drawing for one of ELEVEN opportunities to harvest a bison from American Prairie.

Montana Indigenous (or Tribal nations) Drawing

Residents age 18 and older of any of Montana’s Indigenous communities are welcome to enter a drawing for one of THREE opportunities to harvest a bison from American Prairie. Out of respect for the historical and cultural importance of this tribal tradition, the harvest fees are waived for the three harvest opportunities drawn for the Montana Indigenous communities drawing.

Worldwide Drawing

Anyone age 18 and older is welcome to enter a drawing for TWO opportunities to harvest a bison from American Prairie.

Complete details, terms, rules and a link to enter the drawing are available online at americanprairie.org/bison-harvest.

In addition to the annual bison harvest, American Prairie is proud to offer more than 80,000 acres of its private land in Montana’s block management program for rifle and bow hunting, including upland bird, migratory bird hunting, deer, elk, and antelope. The nonprofit also offers access points to public lands through all of its deeded lands. Visit americanprairie.org/hunting for the most up-to-date hunting information.