American Prairie Reserve resolves long-standing dispute over Montana prairie grazing In the end, the Reserve, the Phillips County Conservation District and the Montana Livestock Association agreed to a 10-year deal that would require strict bison testing protocol, vaccination standards, procedures for escaped bison, and a public reporting and communication aspect. Written By: Darrell Ehrlick / Daily Montanan | 8:52 am, Jan. 28, 2021 × A lone purebred bison from the Elk Island National Park, Canada, on the American Prairie Reserve on June 25, 2013. The American Prairie Reserve recently came to an agreement with officials in Montana to graze bison on public lands. (Brian Greenblatt photo) A dispute between the American Prairie Reserve and officials in Phillips County, Mont., has been resolved after more than four years of legal wrangling.