The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 837: This Episode is Called "It's the Third-to-Last Episode" | MeatEater Radio Live!
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Feb 20, 2026 Bear Newcomb, content creator and hunter relaunching Bear Grease on YouTube, and Clay Newcomb, writer and co-creator working on a black bear book, join Scott Heidebrink, director of landscape stewardship at American Prairie. They dig into American Prairie’s bison grazing leases and BLM decisions. Short takes cover bear-channel plans, bear history, public hunts, land management, and next steps for the bison controversy.
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Bison Are A Small Share Of Grazing
- Bison represent only a small fraction of overall grazing across American Prairie-managed lands.
- They currently oversee ~8,200 cattle across other allotments and estimate bison cover roughly 10% of the land and animals.
Dispute Over Bison Classification
- BLM questioned classifying American Prairie's bison as livestock because their management isn't production-focused.
- Scott counters that Montana legally classifies bison as livestock and American Prairie produces, ships, and harvests animals.
A Personal Bison Harvest Example
- Randall described harvesting an American Prairie bison on BLM land and having the meat in his freezer.
- That real-world harvest illustrates public hunting opportunities tied to American Prairie's bison program.