We’ll never again see vast herds of bison. But the State of Montana is studying the possibility of establishing a significant herd of wild bison in the 1.1-million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and millions of acres of adjacent public land – all accessible and open to hunting. With this new herd could come tremendous new hunting and wildlife-watching opportunities. Strong support from sportsmen will make all the difference – it always has. Sign the petition to bring wild bison home to the ideal habitat waiting in north-central Montana.

Once covering North America by the millions, bison were driven to the brink of extinction by the late 19th century. We saved them, but just barely. Today wild bison persist in a few enclaves, mostly Yellowstone National Park and the Henry Mountains of Utah. Most bison exist as captives in refuges or as privately owned livestock. No wild bison freely roam native prairie habitat. Desirable hunting opportunities for wild bison are extremely limited.

Hunter-Conservationists have achieved tremendous success in restoring America’s native wildlife. Restoring wild, free-roaming bison to suitable habitat on public land will be our crowning success.

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The Hon. Steve Bullock

Governor, State of Montana

P.O. Box 200801

Helena MT 59620-0801

Dear Governor Bullock:

We, the undersigned sportsmen, call on you, Governor Bullock, to work with us to finish the job of American wildlife restoration by restoring wild bison to the vast, available, habitat on public land in Montana. Restoring wild bison is a worthy goal for Montana and the nation.

As sportsmen, we’re proud of our role in restoring nearly all of our native wildlife to at least portions of their historic range – with one particularly glaring exception – bison.

Of course, we’ll never again see the huge herds of wild bison that once roamed the Plains. But we do have the opportunity to restore thousands of wild bison to the millions of contiguous acres of public land in north-central Montana. The hunter’s paradise that is the 1.1-million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana is the absolute best place for wild bison. It’s a sprawling expanse of undeveloped prairie habitat already dedicated to wildlife restoration and conservation, and it’s contiguous to millions of additional acres of superb habitat on public land. This land remains virtually unchanged over time and is just waiting for bison to return. All of these public lands are accessible and open to public hunting and other recreational use.

Sportsmen are proud of our leading role in America’s long, successful push to restore wildlife. But our work is not done. As sportsmen, we will lead the way toward restoration of wild bison to appropriate habitat in the Northern Plains. And we commit to do our part to successfully manage wild bison through fair-chase hunting.

We look to you, Governor Bullock, to join us and help lead this effort.

And we pledge our support and commitment to make restoration of wild bison the next success story in our nation’s long, proud tradition of wildlife conservation.