Returning the range to tribal control has been desired by members since it was taken over by the federal government and the tribe has submitted three proposals since 1994 to that end. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 began a two-year transition process when it became law on December 27, 2020. With the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) taking the land into trust for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), the range is restored to the Flathead Indian Reservation. 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.”