American Prairie Reserve
One of the most ambitious conservation projects in the world is taking shape in north-central Montana, aiming to restore a prairie ecosystem that once rivaled the great wildlife spectacles of Africa.
The American Prairie Reserve is a private, nonprofit organization working to restore and protect the prairie ecosystem in north-central Montana. America’s Great Plains once possessed one of the grandest wildlife spectacles on earth, equaled only by such places as Africa’s Serengeti. The Great Plains of Montana are often referred to as the American Serengeti.
Large, intact prairie grasslands throughout the world have dramatically declined. Today, there are only four places on earth where conservation work at this scale is still possible: the Patagonian Steppe, the Kazakh Steppe, the Mongolian Steppe, and the Northern Great Plains. A steppe is a vast, treeless grassland biome characterized by a semi-arid climate and a high carrying capacity for wildlife. Of these four remaining opportunities, the Northern Great Plains of Montana represents the most viable location in the world for creating a prairie grassland reserve.
How large is it?
At 3.2 million acres, the American Prairie Reserve is already larger than many of the country’s most celebrated national parks. It is the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states, and it is still growing.
| American Prairie Reserve (current) | 3.2 million acres |
| Yellowstone National Park | 2.2 million acres |
| Glacier National Park | 1.2 million acres |
| Yellowstone + Glacier combined | 3.4 million acres |
| State of Connecticut | ~3.1 million acres |
| American Prairie Reserve (goal) | 10 million acres |
American Prairie’s mission
The reserve was founded in 2004 by The Nature Conservancy and the American Prairie Foundation. Its work is guided by five interconnected goals that together aim to restore the ecological integrity of the Northern Great Plains.
Conserve the ecosystem
The reserve aims to restore and connect enough land to allow natural ecological processes to thrive across a contiguous landscape.
Create the largest reserve
The long-term goal is to establish the largest nature reserve in the continental United States, encompassing millions of acres as a refuge for wildlife and people.
Restore biodiversity
Bringing back a full range of native species that once defined the region is central to the reserve’s conservation strategy, including bison, pronghorn, elk, and black-footed ferrets.
Collaboration
The reserve works with public and private landowners as well as indigenous communities to achieve shared conservation outcomes across the landscape.
Public access
The reserve is committed to opening this landscape to the public, including access to previously landlocked state and federal lands that were surrounded by private property and unavailable for public use.
How the reserve came to be
The Nature Conservancy determined in 1999 that the northern Great Plains represented the most viable opportunity for restoring regional habitat and conserving the existing diversity of plants and animals. The upper Missouri River and its banks within the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (915,814 acres) had already been designated a National Wild and Scenic River. The relatively pristine condition of the land north of the refuge and its remarkable diversity of wildlife species made it a top priority for grassland conservation.
The adjacent 377,000-acre Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument was created in 2001, with public lands that were already managed by the federal government. The combination of existing public land and private philanthropy formed the foundation for what would become the American Prairie Reserve.
Restoring the bison herd
The bison that once roamed freely across the Northern Great Plains were largely wiped out more than a century ago. To reintroduce bison carrying the most historically relevant genetics, the American Prairie Reserve partners with Elk Island National Park in Canada, which protects descendants of the Pablo herd, one of the largest groups of bison to survive near-extinction. By carefully selecting and relocating bison calves from Elk Island, the reserve is ensuring its reintroduced herd carries the genetic legacy of the original Great Plains bison. This bison across borders initiative is a critical step in restoring the ecological balance of the American prairie.
| Yellowstone National Park | 3,000 to 6,000 |
| American Prairie Reserve | 1,000+ (goal: 5,000) |
| National Bison Range (Flathead Valley) | 350 to 500 |
| Cattle in Montana (estimated) | ~2.2 million |
Recreation and public access
The American Prairie Reserve is a working landscape open to the public. Recreation opportunities include fishing, birding, hiking, paddling, and cycling. Camping options range from remote backcountry sites to huts and campgrounds accessible by RV. By acquiring private ranches that previously surrounded landlocked state and federal parcels, the reserve has unlocked public access to land that was technically publicly owned but practically unreachable. All public lands within the reserve remain subject to state and federal regulations for hunting and camping.
The American Prairie Reserve is a unique and important project that is helping to restore the prairie ecosystem and conserve some of North America’s most iconic wildlife. The reserve serves as a model for conservation projects around the world and is yet another reason Montana is such a remarkable place to live. To learn more, visit americanprairie.org.
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