73 Public Access Update
The Musselshell is one of the frontier West’s famous rivers. When Lewis and Clark encountered this tributary of the Missouri, they adopted the name used by the Hidatsa people which described the freshwater mussels lining its banks. Among the Blackfeet people the river was a bison hunting ground and was known as Dried Meat River. Fur trappers, gold miners, U.S. soldiers, woodhawks, and steamboat passengers followed behind the Voyage of Discovery, and for a short time in the 1860’s the mouth of the river was home to a military fort. In the 1880’s, when bison were nearly extinct, Theodore Roosevelt sent William Temple Hornady west to harvest and taxidermy a few animals so that future generations would know what our national mammal looked like. Hornady found some of the last bands of the Northern herd along the Musselshell north of Mosby, Montana. The river is mentioned in both Jeremiah Johnson and Lonesome Dove and retains much of its frontier feel today.
In the fall of 2021, American Prairie joined this long timeline when we purchased the 73. Located on the lower Musselshell 25 miles north of Highway 200, the property is more than 32,000 acres (12,233 deeded / 19,770 leased) and includes river bottoms, ponderosa breaks, and high plains. Each time American Prairie buys a property we spend six to twelve months inventorying and getting to know the place before opening it to public access. We have a group of staff who meet on the ground to develop our public access policies according to three guiding questions:
• How do we manage this property for high-quality wildlife habitat?
• How do we manage this property to provide public access to a variety of recreation on our deeded land?
• How do we manage this property to provide public access to adjacent public land?
The 73 has been an opportunity to tackle each of these management questions. The property combines a large elk population with previously-landlocked public land and more than 10,000 acres of deeded ground. For 2022, after several months of meeting with our private and public land neighbors and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, we established the following public access plan:
• We are providing an access route to a previously-landlocked parcel of more than 9,000 acres of State and Federal land utilizing roads on deeded and BLM land.
• We enrolled over 9,000 acres in Montana FWP’s Block Management Program.
• We are maintaining a no-shooting zone established by previous owners along the Musselshell.
• In 2022, while FWP conducts a study of elk movement using GPS collars there is no public access along the banks of the Musselshell.
• We opened two-track roads on the property to non-motorized travel including foot, horse, and bicycle (across all of our properties e-bikes are allowed on routes open to motorized vehicles and prohibited on non-motorized routes).
With the fall hunting season we’re seeing more traffic and visitors on Old Stage Road. Even with recent improvements, visitors should plan on the 25 miles from the pavement taking about an hour of travel time. In wet weather, driving is difficult at best, and routinely impossible due to that infamous gumbo mud. We recommend visitors pack extra food, water, and supplies even on day trips to the property.
We’ve also welcomed our fall hunting caretakers to the 73. Paul, Jordanne and their dog Roca will be living on the property from early September until late November. Both are members of the Traditional Bow Hunters of Montana and have hunted Region 7 in previous seasons. In 2020, they spent more than 40 days in HD 700 hunting with both bows and rifles. They’ll be roaming the property each day and visiting with hunters, answering questions, and handing out maps.
While hunting season may see the most traffic, the property is open to access all year. We encourage you to visit in any season after checking area weather and road conditions. Maps are available at americanprairie.org/maps or at the National Discovery Center on Main St. in Lewistown.
We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors from near and far to this unique property, and starting a new chapter in the river’s long history.
By Mike Quist Kautz, Director of Recreation and Public Access
To learn more about this region, we recommend reading CM Lee’s historic memoir, Life and Death at the Mouth of the Musselshell, and visiting historic markers and sites in nearby communities, particularly the Garfield County Museum in Jordan.
Recreating Responsibly
American Prairie lands are open for everyone to enjoy, all year long. There are no access fees, no entrance gates, and no permissions needed to get out on the lands owned or managed by American Prairie. Please remember, though, that many of these properties continue to be working ranches, as we currently lease 88% of our property - including the 73 - back to local ranchers for cattle grazing. Please come as good neighbors and responsible visitors: plan and prepare carefully for your trip; leave gates as you found them; pack it in, pack it out; respect equipment, cattle, and private property; know boundaries and property lines with maps or apps like OnX; learn about and obey all hunting regulations; and do not travel on wet roads to avoid damage. In areas where we graze bison, please maintain a distance of 100 yards, do not approach bison, and treat all wildlife with respect.
Also know that many communities around American Prairie offer amenities such as lodging, gas, groceries, and unique experiences. Places like Winifred, Winnett, Malta, Jordan, Hays, Glasgow, and our home base of Lewistown have much to offer, and we encourage you to visit and experience these unique Montana towns on your way to and from the prairie.
Please also check out our visitor FAQs at americanprairie.org/visitor-frequently-asked-questions for current info and policies.
Ask The Staff
Question: What can we expect from the National Discovery Center in 2023?
Our plan for 2023 is to implement a full slate of fun and educational programming, beginning with Prairie Mornings, a program started in 2022 for kids K-5. This educational series encourages youngsters to learn about the prairie and its inhabitants through creative, hands-on activities. We also look forward to many more visits by ZooMontana staff, who have been bringing live animals to the Center as part of our popular ECO-Critters program.
In addition, we plan to officially introduce our Speaker Series, which will bring top minds to the National Discovery Center. Tentative presenters for 2023 include Barry Friedman, the foremost expert on historic American Indian trade and camp blankets and the consultant for Pendleton. Friedman will conduct an event a la “Antiques Road Show,” during which he invites the public to bring in, and learn about, their own historic textiles! Other exciting presenters will include David Romtvedt, former Wyoming Poet Laureate and ethnomusicologist who will discuss the Basque history and heritage of Montana and the West. Other speakers will include experts on ancient bison, black-footed ferret restoration, paleoecology, Indigenous Peoples’ history, historic preservation, and other subjects important to the prairie, Montana, and our world. We are very excited about the Center’s next phase of development and the opportunity to provide all people a fun place to learn about the Central Montana prairie – past, present, and future!
David Cunningham, National Discovery Center Director
Question: How did the first year of the American Prairie Field School go, and how can teachers learn more, or participate in other educational opportunities for students?
The first year for the American Prairie Field School was a huge success! Four middle school classes from all over Montana participated in the residential program during the month of May out at Antelope Creek Campground. Researchers from the Smithsonian as well as several staff from American Prairie came to speak with the students and share the wonderful and dynamic features of prairie plants and animals. In addition, the Field School hosted a one-day prairie science workshop for Great Falls Middle School students at First People’s Buffalo Jump in Ulm. At the workshop, many topics were introduced, such as traditional native games, medicinal plants, and keystone species. Furthermore, two local elementary classes from Lewistown, consisting of 220 students, attended programming at the National Discovery Center.
Our future plans for the Field School include continuing a second year of residential programming for four middle school classes at Antelope Creek Campground this spring, as well as day programming at the National Discovery Center for up to 15 school groups. Teachers will have the option to choose from a list of classes and topics for their students to participate in, such as keystone species, skulls and furs, as well as traditional native games. If teachers are interested in particpating or have questions, please contact me at dusty@americanprairie.org.
Dusty Rixford, Education Coordinator
Question: How do you manage bison in drought conditions, and how’s the range looking after this summer?
We are impacted by the region’s drought, which has ranged from extreme to moderate this past year, just like our neighbors. Forage production is down about 30%, and grasshopper numbers are still very high. In anticipation of the continued drought, we reduced our stocking rate of bison, which is already significantly lower than what the BLM recommends, by about 25%. We did this by shipping 85 bison to other herds last winter, offering a larger bison harvest to the public, and harvesting an additional 25 animals for local food banks, which added up to around 10,000 pounds of locally donated meat. Assuming drought conditions may continue, we will be harvesting and shipping more bison this coming winter.
We’ve also fixed wells and replaced water tanks as the drought causes reservoirs to dry up. Herd and landscape health is absolutely essential to us, and so while we don’t typically feed our bison, in the interest of keeping our animals healthy, happy, and home, we fed hay last winter and have stocked up again for the coming season.
Scott Heidebrink, Director of Bison Restoration
Question: What’s been most special or rewarding about your summer at Antelope Creek Campgroud?
The quietness takes you over. Everybody that I’ve talked to that’s been here for more than a few days, they say the same thing. They find themselves talking quieter, speaking quieter, they hear better. It’s because you’re not competing with any outside noises – unless you make them. I tell people that all the time. They ask, ‘So What do we do here?’ and I tell them, ‘Stop for a minute. Listen. This is what we do. This is why it’s here.’ That’s what makes this place amazing.
You can go to hundreds of places and see mountains and snow, and wildlife that runs up to your car and things like that. But you don’t get to go anywhere at night where you can turn in a 360 circle and not see a tower, not see an artificial light other than the six solar lights that are out here to mark the cabins. That just doesn’t exist anywhere – not in the lower 48.
There’s something about this place I really love, the quiet, it’s unlike any place I’ve ever been. But really, it’s the people. Seeing them have a great time is what gives us the biggest thrill, honestly that’s what makes it fun. And plus – I love Brenda, and Brenda loves me, but sometimes you gotta have other people to talk to!
Rodney Hill & Brenda Church, Antelope Creek Campground Hosts
P.O. Box 908
Bozeman, MT 59771
[Recipient Address]
Did You Know?
American Prairie is working with our partners in the Aaniiih Nakoda Community to begin a pilot project to survey some of our private property for cultural inventories. Working with our partners and neighbors from Aaniiih Nakoda Tours and the Fort Belknap Tribal Historic Preservation Office, we are identifying sites of cultural and historic significance, to better understand and honor the land’s past, present, and future, to protect these resources, and when appropriate create educational and access opportunities in partnership with our neighbors.
To learn more about our many collaborations with neighboring tribal communities, please visit americanprairie.org/tribal-communities.
Thank you for your interest in American Prairie! Learn more at AmericanPrairie.org, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns, or to share ideas for future newsletter topics. Contact Corrie, American Prairie Senior Outreach Manager, at corrie@americanprairie.org
