Established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1908, the BR consists of approximately 18,524 acres (7,496 ha) within the Montana valley and foothill grasslands.

[2] This diverse ecosystem includes grasslands, Douglas fir and ponderosa pine forests, riparian areas and ponds.

Atatice’s son Latati, or Little Peregrine Falcon, eventually led six orphan bison west to the Flathead Reservation.

[13] By the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd was said to be the largest collection of the bison remaining in the U.S.[14] Pablo was notified in 1904 that the government was opening up the Flathead Reservation for settlement by selling off parcels of land.

[23][24][25] In the early 1950s the Montana Historical Society made arrangements to move Big Medicine upon his death to the state's museum to be permanently preserved and displayed.

[29] In accordance with the 1994 Self Governance Act, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) negotiated and entered a government-to-government agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

[34][35] When surplus animals are released from the Range to other conservation herds around the country, the plan called for more collaboration with local, tribal and state partners.

[39] Assistant Secretary Tara Katuk Sweeney stated that “The CSKT have strong and deep historical, geographic and cultural ties to the land and the bison, and their environmental professionals have been leaders in natural resources and wildlife management for many decades.”[40] Tribal officials said the public would see little change during the annual reopening of Red Sleep Drive in May 2021 and all proceeds will be used for the management and operation of the Bison Range.

[42] New exhibits in the visitors center were the result of cultural committees from each tribe getting the correct history where the USFWS was unable to provide resources to improve the information being displayed.

[43] Both Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, and state Attorney General, Kristen Juras, spoke at a celebration of the restoration in May.

[24] Tribal and government officials mentioned how the reunification of the tribe with the bison, the land and the resources righted a wrong in the history of the reservation.

Topsoil on the Range is generally shallow and mostly underlain with rock which is exposed in many areas, forming ledges and talus slopes.

Soils over the major portion of the Range were developed from materials weathered from strongly folded pre-Cambrian quartzite and argillite bedrock.