The purpose of the Blackfeet Fish & Wildlife Department establishment was to ensure the maximization of quality and quantity of life for all fish and wildlife of the Blackfeet Nation and the connection to their people. In 2009, the Iinnii Initiative was launched by leaders of the four tribes that make up the Blackfoot Confederacy to conserve traditional lands, protect Blackfeet culture, and create a home for the bison to return to. This project will build upon the efforts of the Blackfeet to rematriate bison in order to restore their homelands.
Bison are improving grassland restoration efforts across many landscapes. They are known for being “ecosystem engineers” that help restore grasslands by grazing, which prunes vegetation, lengthens the growing season, and stimulates plant growth. They support carbon sequestration through their grazing, which along with their nutrient-rich dung, nourishes the grasslands, increasing the productivity of plants and enhancing the ecosystem’s capacity to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. Their grazing behaviors increase and enhance native habitats, increasing biodiversity and improving soil health.
In 2021, the Blackfeet Nation obtained the Chief Mountain Unit on the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. The Tribal Business Council enacted a resolution suspending private cattle grazing leases across 24,000 to 28,000 acres of these lands, securing the area for the tribe. In 2025, The Council purchased the former Grizzly Ridge Bison Ranch, adjacent to the Chief Mountain Unit. From these purchases, approximately 46,000 have been leased to the Blackfeet Fish & Wildlife department for nine years. The department has been working to restore the landscape and its connection to this place by bringing bison back.
In June of 2023, the Blackfeet Tribe released 44 bison onto the Chief Mountain (Ninastako) landscape, with the goal of releasing more in the coming years. The current lease ends in 2029, so they are working to collect data to demonstrate success and ideally create a permanent conservation easement here. Success would depend on establishing a permanent sustaining herd on the land while showing data that supports the positive effects of bison—bolstered by traditional practices and western science—on the land, water, wildlife, and fish.
