A PUBLICATION FOR FRIENDS OF AMERICAN PRAIRIE | SPRING 2022
Our mission is to create the largest nature reserve in the continental United States, a refuge for people and wildlife preserved forever as part of America’s heritage.
STAFF CONTRIBUTORS
Becky Lonardo, Editor and Creative Director
Travis Campbell, Graphic Designer
Damien Austin
Curt Freese
Alison Fox
Scott Heidebrink
Mike Quist Kautz
Daniel Kinka
Eliza Krause
Dan Mahoney
David Nolt
Ellie Oakley
Dusty Rixford
Anna Schale
Corrie Williamson
NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
George E. Matelich, Chair
Gib Myers, Vice Chair
Keith Anderson, Treasurer
Jay Abbe
Alan Airth
Clyde Aspevig
Jill E. Bough
David A. Coulter
Steven N. Cousins
Alison Fox
Sean Gerrity
Bob Greenlee
Liliane A. Haub
Bill Hilf
Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.
Tim Kelly
Jacqueline B. Mars
Susan Matelich
Wesley Matelich
Karen Petersen Mehra
Nancy S. Mueller
Susan Myers
Will Price
Jeffrey Talpins
Mara Talpins
WELCOME
TO AMERICAN PRAIRIE A
merican Prairie was formed in 2001 – TWENTY years ago – to ensure that the grassland ecosystem in North America would be preserved in a way that honors its past by ensuring its future. Nothing like this has ever been done before, so some trial and error has been necessary, backed by a lot of patience and persistence. Since inception, though, American Prairie’s vision hasn’t changed. The science underpinning is sound and consistent; the quantity and quality of public land in the area makes a big vision possible; and the unprecedented wildlife history of the region leads us to dream of the immense herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope that explorer Meriwether Lewis described.
So much progress has been made in the past twenty years, thanks to your support. As we look ahead to our next 20 years, I want to share with you the pillars that continue to drive our efforts toward this vision –a grand vision which has been our beacon of light from day one.
Assemble the land. Our model to purchase land for sale using donations from supporters around the globe, and stitch it together with
the millions of acres of public land already in the region, serves as a successful model in the 21st century. The outcome is a patchwork of ownership with a common goal of conserving the landscape for wildlife and people.
Focus on Biodiversity. When something is lost, the task of restoring it becomes insurmountably harder. This place, however – its thriving plant life, insect diversity, wildlife, and the people in the region that steward and care for it – is still intact. It is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world but it has not yet been lost. That makes preserving it not only possible, but very realistic.
Collaboration. This vision is bold and ambitious, and it cannot be done alone. Nonprofits, Indigenous Communities, neighbors, local communities, federal and state land managers, and prairie enthusiasts from around the globe must be present at the table, to work together around common ground, recognizing that this region is a place worth preserving.
Share with public. Around here we say, “to know a place is to love it.”
And ensuring that people – past,
present, and future – have a deep appreciation for this landscape and its inhabitants, is a core piece of ensuring that the American Prairie ecosystem will endure.
Fiscal responsibility. Donations fuel this mission. And those donations are proof that people entrust us with this bold mission. Raising these funds from supporters like you and spending them responsibly and with a long-term focus is a job we take very seriously. As Jane Goodall once said “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.” We ask, now and always, that you continue to join us in this cause.
You’ll find examples of each of these pillars in action throughout this edition of the Sentinel, as told by the employees and friends of American Prairie. We hope this issue helps to paint a picture of where we’ve come from and where we are going. I will be one of the first to say both are very, very exciting, and I hope you will continue to support us in this visionary effort.
Alison Fox, CEO
Alsion Fox, CEO
GREATEST PLAINS
The Shared Vision for a Protected Prairie Landscape
By Curt Freese, Ph.D., Conservation Biologist and National Council Member
few miles north of the Missouri River, a 150-foot-high embankment rises sharply above Fourchette Creek. At the top, rows of rock cairns lead to the cliff’s edge. Below are stone circles and old bison bones. This was clearly a buffalo jump where Indigenous Peoples hunted bison by driving them over the bluff, evidence of the region’s wildlife abundance in prehistoric times.
That abundance was still evident when the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled through the region. On May 8, 1805, Meriwether Lewis wrote, “We saw a great number buffaloe, Elk, common and Black taled deer, goats beaver and wolves.” Grizzly bears were particularly abundant—and intimidating to expedition members.
Nearly 200 years later, in August 2000, prairie scientists and conservationists gathered to review evidence regarding wildlife abundance and priorities for grassland conservation. National organizations like World Wildlife Fund and Defenders of Wildlife were joined by regional groups to find a solution to a collective gripe. Grasslands of the Great Plains and, more generally, temperate grasslands of the world had been ignored compared to forests, mountains, wetlands, and other ecosystems. A prairie reserve large enough to conserve all native wildlife was missing. This is a trend seen around the world.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)1, there are only four places on the planet where there is
immediate potential to conserve grasslands on the scale required to keep the ecosystem alive and well: the Patagonian Steppe of southern South America, the Kazakh Steppe of western Asia, the Daurian Steppe and Amur River Basin of eastern Asia, and the Northern Great Plains of North America.
And so it was determined, after long days of study and debate by the gathered experts, that one region should be the highest priority for conservation. Northeast Montana: the land of explorer legacies and buffalo jumps, the stretches of the Upper Missouri River, the home of the 1.1-million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.
Conservation science showed us that wildlife in great numbers—elk, bison, wolves, and grizzly bears—were possible once again. Prairie dog towns could support black-footed ferrets, and an unparalleled diversity of grassland birds were nesting here. A richness of habitats—the river and its tributaries, forested floodplains, the rugged Missouri River Breaks, badlands, rolling prairies, and nearby mountain ranges—harbored as many as 60 species of mammals and 240 species of birds.
The data also pointed us to a relatively intact prairie landscape that had been largely left unplowed. Scientists estimated that 5,000 square miles were needed to conserve this prairie ecosystem, giving enough room for wildlife to roam, for processes like fire to run their course, and for the ecosystem to be resilient to the challenges of drought and climate change. This was the place.
Our goal, we all agreed, was to assemble a vast nature reserve that could restore one of the most outstanding places for wildlife in the Great Plains and, for that matter, on Earth. A new organization was needed to lead the charge. Twenty years ago, American Prairie was launched to put the vision into action.
Today, a patchwork of land ownership is being transformed into a more collaborative and seamless prairie landscape, offering a more positive outlook for native wildlife. Modern-day travelers and local communities now have access to a place that shaped our nation’s character and helped sustain the first people who walked here.
Our story is more than a circle drawn on a map. American Prairie represents a link between natural and human history, presentday conservation efforts, and a future that includes a preserved prairie ecosystem to be enjoyed for generations to come.
An innovative approach to preserving a prairie ecosystem
By Damien Austin, American Prairie Vice President & Superintendent
DAssembling GLACIER
r. Curt Freese’s article “Greatest Plains” (page 6) shares the story of how American Prairie came to be. More than twenty years later, I am lucky enough to live on Montana’s grasslands in the heart of the region identified by Dr. Freese and the group of experts mentioned in that article.
Here exists the 1.1 million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR) surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of existing public land — most being intact native prairie. Using the CMR as an anchor and factoring in existing public lands, American Prairie can purchase a relatively small amount of land to reach the 3.2-million-acre goal and achieve prairie conservation at ecosystemscale.
This region is characterized by a large patchwork of land ownership, including federal, state, tribal, and private lands. Using our innovative model, American Prairie will eventually be a complex but connected network of habitat, crossing private and public lands.
RANCH
Private land (also called deeded property) in the west very often comes with the rights – including grazing privileges – to adjacent state and federal land (referred to as leased property). Because of that structure, private land ownership not only gives us the right to manage our land for conservation, it also increases our ability to have a positive impact on leased public lands and the wildlife that use them.
Plains are comprised of five primary habitat types: shortgrass prairie; sagebrush steppe; breaks, ponderosa pine, and juniper woodlands; riparian corridors; and island mountain ranges. Each of these habitats occur across American Prairie, and they each play a key role in a healthy prairie ecosystem.
COLLABORATING FOR CONSERVATION
This structure also gives us the opportunity to welcome the public onto our deeded property, and encourage access to our leased public lands. Like millions of Americans, we cherish our public land heritage. We believe the ability to access wild places like the prairie is essential to our well-being. It also fosters a deep reverence for the land, creating lifelong advocates for conservation.
Properties like White Rock, Dry Fork, and Sun Prairie provide vast stretches of upland habitat while properties like the PN and the 73 provide critical riparian habitat connected to the greater Missouri River corridor. Smaller properties like Cow Creek can be integral by connecting important wildlife corridors to surrounding public land, resulting in a diverse and resilient landscape.
Much in the way public access provides mutual benefits to people and our mission, collaboration provides opportunities to maximize conservation efforts. Ranchers, Indigenous communities, and the government agencies that manage public lands in the region all contribute to the success of American Prairie. We all have a common bond in our passion for this place, and collaboration helps to extend the impact of American Prairie far beyond its borders. Our bison restoration program and Wild Sky are both great examples of collaboration in action.
Bison Restoration
American Prairie purchased our first property, Sun Prairie, in 2004. Since then, we have completed 33 land transactions and assembled nearly 118,000 acres of private land and over 330,000 acres of leased public land toward our mission.
You may be asking yourself what American Prairie will look like when all the land is assembled. The final footprint isn’t pre-determined, and ultimately will depend on the size and location of the properties we purchase. Generally, we look for diverse land along the north and south sides of the Missouri River, between the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Fort Peck Reservoir. Our ability to acquire land is impacted by the market, the properties for sale, and the availability of funds to make purchases.
We’ve come a long way in 20 years. And while there is more work to be done, American Prairie is no longer an abstract concept. It is a vibrant, living place that can be visited today, and the impacts of our work is clear.
Living here instills a sense of what is possible for the prairie, and I am reminded every day of how beautiful and biodiverse this place is. American Prairie’s mission is driven by a similar optimism. We believe the preservation of a prairie ecosystem can be achieved in our lifetime, and we are committed to making it a reality.
American Prairie has relocated hundreds of bison to conservation and tribal herds in the region and across the country. Through these efforts, we are able to broaden the impact this keystone species has on nearby lands, and generate awareness and support for the continued restoration of this iconic species.
Wild Sky
Additionally, piecing together the mosaic of habitat needed to support a thriving prairie ecosystem requires careful consideration when choosing potential new properties. The Northern Great
Every time I walk from my home along the oxbows of Beaver Creek, I can see our progress in the beaver dams that give an arid landscape new life, in the bison that make a distant horizon seem closer, in the chorus of coyote calls and birdsong, and in a prairie sunset unobstructed by the hand of man.
RANCH
By partnering with neighboring landowners and creating incentives for implementing wildlife friendly land management practices, Wild Sky benefits landowners and wildlife, ultimately creating more tolerance for wildlife migration across private lands.
RETURN
By Scott Heidebrink, Director of Bison Restoration
It’s
been a big year for our bison
at American Prairie. And, just like how bulls, cows, and calves rely on one another for the herd to prosper, our organization continues to work together both internally and with outside organizations to ensure our bison, the prairie, and our mission thrive.
As American Prairie’s Director of Bison Restoration, I have lived and worked on American Prairie’s lands since 2015 and my responsibilities include ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of our bison herd. In the past six years, I’ve seen us make great strides in bison restoration with more animals, more land, more support, and more collaboration for the benefit of both the public and biodiversity.
Working together is at the heart of nearly everything we do at American Prairie, and any manager can tell you teamwork can make or break an operation. In 2021, our dedication to those principles helped us reach an agreement with the Phillips County Conservation District and resolve differences over a local bison grazing ordinance. That
settlement marks a new milestone in our efforts to find common ground with local livestock producers.
Since returning bison to the prairie in 2005, we have always met or exceeded the state disease testing requirements. Despite this, the Phillips County ordinance required every single one of our bison to be captured and disease tested, yearly. That process is not only expensive, but can be very stressful on the animals. That’s when attorneys from Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies office stepped in. With their help, we negotiated a compromise that calls for American Prairie to test a representative subset of our bison herd and share information with the conservation district and local communities. And, as we’ve always done, we will continue to invite other ranchers, neighbors, and anyone who is interested to attend our bison handling events so they can see first-hand the management, planning, dedication, and teamwork that goes into it.
I believe our 16 years of experience helped show skeptics that we are providing a solid proof of concept for pragmatic rewilding in the 21st century. We may have started out pretty far apart, but in the end, we all love wildlife, this land, and its people. Realizing we actually have quite a bit in common helped us work out a plan that everyone could agree on.
HELPING GROW OTHER HERDS
I love being out on the prairie every day and witnessing bison in their natural habitat. At last count, we have 813 bison between three herds. And while we continue to see our bison thrive on American Prairie, we are also increasing our efforts to help other conservation herds get started and grow. It’s estimated that only 360,000 bison remain in North America today, and of that, less than ten percent live in conservation herds. To date, American Prairie has distributed 404 bison to other tribal and privately owned herds that are managed for conservation goals. That number will continue to grow in 2022 as we plan to relocate approximately 100 of our bison to established tribal partners in the
West, including Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, and Rocky Boy.
It’s been nearly 17 years since the very first bison stepped out of a trailer on a cold and rainy October night and onto American Prairie, ending a 120-year absence on this part of the central Montana landscape. Watching that must have been something. Myself and many of my colleagues got to witness a similar celebration for the Chippewa Cree tribe in the Rocky Boy community, but this was perhaps even more significant and moving because it felt like a homecoming.
On a cold and windy October afternoon, hundreds of Chippewa Cree tribal members cheered and high-fived as we drove two trailers into a 1,200-acre pasture and unloaded six bison. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes arrived with another five bison to create a herd of eleven. Nine school buses brought approximately 200 local children to witness this historic moment. Bison hadn’t roamed the Rocky Boy Reservation since the early 1990s. Watching those bison run out into the pasture, and
the excitement on the faces of the Chippewa Cree people is an image that will remained etched in my memory. It was as if something had been missing and was now back in its correct place.
American Prairie is also entering into the second year of a five-year partnership with the Wolakota Buffalo Range near Mission, South Dakota. We’ve committed to relocating a total of 170 bison to the land of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, also known as the Rosebud Indian Reservation. It is an honor to partner with another ambitious wildlife restoration project and support the Lakota in their efforts to create the largest triballyowned and managed herd in the United States. Restoring bison to their native habitat won’t happen overnight. But through collaboration and partnership, we are succeeding in bringing bison back to their historically pivotal role on the prairie.
By Daniel Kinka, Ph.D., Senior Wildlife Restoration Manager
tanding at the trickling remnants of the stream, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. With barely a tree in sight, and surrounded by dusty pasture, there was a beaver dam. It was constructed from sedges instead of sturdy branches, but a beaver was here, hard at work.
I was just getting to know this quiet valley on one of American Prairie’s latest acquisitions. But the work of imagining had begun. If there’s one beaver, there can be a hundred. If there are a hundred beavers, we have stands of cottonwood trees. The possibilities grow exponentially.
This is our version of “rewilding.” Unlike some uses of the word, rewilding on these lands means learning all that we can about how the ecosystem once functioned— largely based on historical accounts from the 1800s—and reimagining what’s possible today.
Over the last twenty years, our wildlife restoration efforts focused on existing species that are native to the northern plains, like bison, prairie dogs, pronghorn, and greater sage grouse. The diversity of animals here is already astounding, with conservationists and media often referring to the region as “America’s Serengeti.” Where we have the most work to do is on rebuilding ecologically meaningful wildlife populations. That said, our rewilding strategy is more than wildlife in large numbers. To be successful, the ecosystem must be complex and robust enough for all living things to thrive alongside pressures like fire and drought. We are focused
on creating a system that can survive and bounce back, as well as one that’s inclusive of human communities and activities like hunting and recreation.
In addition to assembling enough land, a landscape-scale transformation like this requires collaboration and knowledgesharing.
Our partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is instrumental in providing the science we need to drive American Prairie’s rewilding management. Organizations like Defenders of Wildlife have not only provided long-standing support with prairie dogs but also help address people/ wildlife conflict. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the adjacent Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge are experienced advisors.
And the original wilders and protectors of the last fifty years?
Working with the tribal nations of the Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, and Rocky Boy communities has offered invaluable expertise when it comes to wildlife and community resilience.
With a wealth of science and experience guiding the way, I’m optimistic about the years ahead for the American Prairie ecosystem.
We’re bolstering plans for longterm ecological monitoring that allow us to more closely assess ecosystem health. The Wild Sky wildlife-friendly land management program continues to build relationships with our neighbors in agriculture, and expanding trail camera monitoring
will provide better insight into wildlife populations while offering financial incentives for wildlife tolerance.
With prairie dog populations thriving, I’m very encouraged about the possibility of endangered black-footed ferrets making their arrival. And even though that’s a tremendous milestone, you might be surprised to learn that I’m equally enthusiastic about something else entirely: water.
A comprehensive inventory of prairie streams will soon be underway, giving us an unprecedented look at the area’s hydrology and the potential for beaver repopulation. While riparian areas might not sound as exciting as little green-eyed hunters, they are a functionally important part of the ecosystem on which so many creatures and biological processes depend.
Like many restoration projects, prioritizing streams and creeks might not be a quick win, but it’s work that accelerates our progress in ways that cascade across the horizon. Just how prairie dog restoration can lead to burrowing owls and black-footed ferrets, one busy beaver is the start to a wetland teeming with life.
The prairie has always been a place of history, inspiration, artistry, and invention. Rewilding is an opportunity for everyone to play an active role in resetting the ecosystem and building a more resilient future.
At the end of a long day on the prairie, when gumbo mud clogs my tires or equipment breaks, I find myself cracking open guest logbooks from the Myers Family Huts. Pages full of stories, poems, and sketches remind me that, while our visitor infrastructure is a work in progress, we’ve already created the spaces where memories are made and traditions begin.
The kid who writes about his first hunt. Or the group that plans to come back every year during the same week in May to see the cottonwoods. People are building connections to the land.
Among the on-the-ground challenges of managing public access, one of the more difficult tasks is defining what American Prairie’s visitor experience is like now and what we envision for the future. We are building something new that borrows from the
By Mike Quist Kautz, Director of Public Access & Recreation
traditions of America’s many forms of protected areas. American Prairie lands encompass enough acreage to compare to the size of some National Parks, but it has the remoteness of wilderness areas and the multiple-use landscape of a National Forest.
As a work in progress, each new property that American Prairie acquires raises three key questions: How can we manage this land as a refuge for wildlife? How can we provide a variety of recreation opportunities on our deeded land? And how can we unlock public access to the existing public lands that were previously inaccessible?
The mosaic of land ownership requires collaboration with partners ranging from Indigenous and agricultural neighbors to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
As we weave together pieces of prairie, there are different regulations to consider so that visitors have a seamless experience guided more by topography and scenic views than boundary lines.
Visitors also represent a significant economic opportunity. Outdoor recreation is Montana’s second-largest industry and accounts for more than 71,000 jobs and $7.1 billion of consumer spending1. Local communities surrounding American Prairie are the core providers of services like food, fuel, and lodging. They are the hometowns of contractors who build and maintain facilities. Our tribal neighbors are offering guided tours and camping, and a long-time Wild Sky rancher is renting canvas outfitting tents and offering guided horseback trips.
In 2017, American Prairie tracked 132 overnight reservations in our accommodations. Less than four years later, there were 1,300 overnight reservations in a single year, representing approximately 5,000 overnight visitors. Similar in number to people who explore the nearby Upper Missouri National Wild & Scenic River, we’ve now reached a regionally-significant number of travelers.
Best of all, the experience we offer today welcomes visitors from all walks of life. Entry to our properties is free and open to the public. Campsites are $10-15 and huts can be booked for $150/ night for 9 beds. Eighty percent of hut reservations are made by Montanans looking for adventure, while stays at Antelope Creek Campground are a 50-50 split between in-state campers and road-tripping out-of-staters.
For those with limited time, a visit to the National Discovery Center in Lewistown, MT, is the perfect entry point to the prairie. With a two-wheel-drive vehicle, a day trip up the highway to Mars Vista gets you on the ground with
the option to stay at Antelope Creek Campground, where camping cabins make for an easy destination.
When you’re ready for 30 miles of gravel and dirt roads in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, visiting the PN property near Judith Landing offers hiking, biking, and horseback riding, as well as stays at the Myers Family Huts. And if that wets your whistle, you might feel the call to travel 50 miles on gravel and unimproved roads for an overnight excursion to Buffalo Camp, home to one of our resident bison herds.
From Main Street Lewistown to the Missouri Breaks and the rolling prairie backcountry, American Prairie redefines what travel and exploration look like on a landscape of many uses. Our work to rewild the landscape also means that over the coming years, you’ll encounter a place that is a little wilder with each visit, with more wildlife, darker skies, and more opportunities for adventure.
Adventure Awaits
Plan your American Prairie visit with a stop at the National Discovery Center and then journey to the prairie for a day trip, overnight stay, or remote getaway. American Prairie supporters receive a 20% discount!
National Discovery Center in Lewistown
Stop in at our gathering place for prairie explorers and enthusiasts from around the world. Tour the exhibits, participate in a program, watch a film, and more! Everyone welcome.
Antelope Creek Campground at Mars Vista
Find RV/tent sites and cabins at Antelope Creek Campground, located just 7 miles north of the Missouri River on Highway 191. Be sure to hit the 2-mile interpretive trail.
Myers Family Huts on the PN
Set up your basecamp for exploration on the PN property near Winifred. Self-service huts are a popular destination for groups of families and friends. Book early!
Buffalo Camp at Sun Prairie Unit
Situated 90 minutes from Antelope Creek, visitors travel on dirt and gravel roads to arrive at Buffalo Camp. Stay under the stars and immersed in prairie life.
MEADOWLARKS MAIN STREET on
By Anna Schale, National Discovery Center Coordinator
elcome to the National Discovery Center! My name is Anna, and I am one of the American Prairie staff you may meet at the front desk.
Your arrival means you either traversed the beautiful two-lane highways of central Montana, flew from somewhere with a few more traffic lights than Lewistown, or perhaps you’re a local and traveled the perilous mile of your snowcovered driveway to make it to our stoop. Either way, we’re glad you’re here.
Inside this newly renovated building, you will find what an enthusiastic 11year old visitor described as “better than school:” interactive exhibits about the prairie ecosystem, a children’s learning and play space, a theater, community meeting spaces, a visitor information desk, and much more. This is a place for people to come hear the chirps of prairie dogs, to smell sagebrush, and to learn about the natural and human history that shaped this remarkable place.
Originally built in 1901 as the Power Mercantile, this building is nearly a city block in size and has
housed a variety of businesses that clothed and fed people for more than a century. It’s always fun to hear visitors who vividly remember spinning on the shiny chrome stools of the Woolworth’s soda fountain or walking the grand red staircase to the sprawling second floor.
When I first visited Lewistown in 2007, my grandmother brought me to this building when it was Reid’s department store. She bought me a pair of jeans that I wore every day that summer. My grandparents and I explored the prairie together, and those jeans collected a copious amount of dirt while protecting my legs from the spiky yucca plants and sagebrush we encountered.
Before I visited central Montana, I expected to see the mountainous, fir tree-filled landscape that I’d seen in the southwest part of the state. Instead, found a vast grassland that closely resembled my home state of Oklahoma, and rugged river breaks I’d only seen in Frank Tenney Johnson paintings. I’ll admit, the prairie can be a hard sell for people. Loving this landscape requires grit. Hiking in jeans in 100-degree heat, bundling up to hunt in zero-degree temperatures, and fishing ponds in
ankle-deep mud are all things that have molded me.
The prairie has shaped my life in many ways – as it has for so many people – and I’m honored to now greet visitors at the Discovery Center and help them learn about and explore this place I love so much.
I hope you’re able to take in all the National Discovery Center has to offer during your visit. You won’t scrape your legs on the yucca and sage here, but I can assure you that you will leave with a better understanding of these mighty grasslands, with a heart inspired by the wild creatures of the landscape, and a camaraderie with the saltof-the-earth people who call the prairie home.
The first time I saw the buffalo jump near American Prairie’s Sun Prairie property, my colleague Lars Anderson insisted that we first visit a particular rock.
Intrigued, I followed Lars across the bluff until he dropped down next to what seemed at first like an unremarkable stone, brushing aside sage branches to point to its furrowed, lichen-painted surface. He traced with his fingers worn lines that had been chiseled in the stone, describing how the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains had used the rock centuries before. The marks provided a map, turning the stone into an instruction manual used to teach one another the landscape and to preserve the knowledge of how and where to successfully drive the buffalo to the jump’s edge.
When you look at a map of the region around American Prairie, at
COLLABORATION AT THE HEART OF AMERICAN PRAIRIE
By Corrie Williamson, Senior Outreach Manager
the many shades and shapes that indicate mountain ranges, rivers, county lines, private property, public land, tribal lands, refuges, and monuments, the necessity of collaboration comes into stark relief. Collaboration to assemble and connect this place - but also to tell the story of a land with a deep cultural heritage that includes millennia of use, inhabitation, and caretaking by Indigenous peoples.
Look at that map again, and you’ll see that the Fort Belknap Indian Community is our close neighbor to the north, home of the Aaniiih (or Gros Ventre) and Nakoda (Assiniboine) tribes. Over the years we’ve developed relationships and collaborations with this community that have been essential to our work to tell the story of the prairie landscape, and preserve its human as well as ecological history.
This partnership has taken many forms over the years, including our
shared work with Aaniiih Nakoda Tours, a Fort Belkap program under the Nakoda Aaniiih Development Corporation that takes visitors to points of interest on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and surrounding area, leaving them with a newfound understanding of what life is like for the tribes.
We work with Aaniiih Nakoda Tours and Director George Horse Capture Junior, around cultural and historical interpretation of the prairie, which we believe can powerfully enhance visitor experiences in this special landscape. In 2018, American Prairie hosted a weeklong Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) training course for members of the Aaniiih Nakoda Community and American Prairie staff. Two instructors – Certified Interpretive Guide Trainers from Yellowstone National Park - led the course and trained attendees on telling the story of the landscape more fully.
American Prairie staff, like Lars, who attended the training, use storytelling to enrich their work, as do Aaniiih Nakoda Community members. Dan Werk, (Aaniiih Nen/ White Clay) the Cultural Liaison at the Fort Belknap Tribal Historic Preservation Office, took the CIG course and now puts his interpretive skills, along with a deep Aaniiih family tradition of storytelling, to use cultivating connections to land, culture, and history within his community, especially among young people. “I always try to tell our kids, pay attention to the land, look around you, watch the birds –they have a lot of lessons to teach. The prairie itself has a story to tell,” he said, and added, “Being able to have the right setting is a big part of being able to tell a story,
and American Prairie is creating that setting.” Like Lars, he often interprets those stones on the landscape. “Our tribe used to burn the grass,” he told me. “A reason was to draw the buffalo back in by regenerating new plant life, since the buffalo ate specific grasses and medicines. We also burned to reveal stone features on the prairie left by our ancestors, giving us directions on where to camp, where water could be found, and where certain ceremonies were conducted.”
Today, American Prairie recommends and utilizes the guides from Aaniiih Nakoda Tours to offer interpretation on the prairie. The guides provide visitors the opportunity to enhance their understanding of the landscape, its people, and wildlife through the lens of Indigenous cultural knowledge and history. This work is an ongoing and growing collaboration, but, as George Horse Capture Junior said to me recently, “It’s a friendship. I believe it became a friendship years ago.” Junior reminded me that the value of our shared work to better understand, interpret, and tell the land’s story is not just in informing and educating, but in self-growth, in becoming better stewards and community members. Junior is always on the lookout for opportunities that can help people learn and open doors. “The opportunities are there,” he told me, “sometimes people just need a little extra incentive to learn about themselves.”
THE KEN BURNS AMERICAN HERITAGE PRIZE WYNTON MARSALIS
2020 KEN BURNS AMERICAN HERITAGE PRIZE RECIPIENT
When I first learned about American Prairie, I was immediately intrigued by this project, by its grandeur, its audacity, and its resolve to protect this most American of landscapes. As our young nation grew, the prairie shaped our collective consciousness with its scenes of seemingly endless herds of bison roaming an impossibly vast landscape.
Long known to the Indigenous communities who lived here
for millennia, this land, rich in biodiversity, was etched into the American psyche.
Although we cannot turn back the clock on history, we can always learn from it. We must learn from it, and in the ever-expanding world of humanity, there are still places where we can preserve what was and what rightly deserves to still be. This is the work of American Prairie: to honor our history and our natural heritage by restoring
a landscape that helped to define who we are as a nation and continues to enrich our lives.
Likewise, the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize recognizes distinguished and visionary artists, authors, educators, filmmakers, historians, and scientists whose body of work has advanced our collective understanding of the indomitable American spirit.
— KEN BURNS
Trumpeter extraordinaire. Composer in the tradition of Ellington and Monk and Mingus. Band leader, writer, teacher, mentor, winner of the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a jazz composer. Founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Recording artist. Classical musician. Son, father, lover, brother, friend.
As the great scholar Albert Murray said, “In taking the full measure of a jazz artist, you’re looking
at a pioneer. You’re looking at an explorer. You’re looking at an experimenter. You’re looking at a scientist, because it is the creative process incarnate.”
As American Prairie preserves the prairie landscape for the generations to come, Wynton Marsalis has built an institution, a legacy to preserve the genius of America’s unique artform for generations to come.
By pursuing his vision in defiance
of conventional wisdom, and in succeeding beyond any possible expectation, he exemplifies the indomitable American spirit.
— KEN BURNS
The following is an excerpt from Wynton Marsalis’ acceptance speech from the May 4, 2021, Ken Burns American Heritage Prize virtual presentation event.
I love the mission of American Prairie, and I love the term “rewilding.” It sounds like something benign and dangerous, safe and reckless, well-behaved and unruly. It is truly New Orleanian. Rewilding introduces you to the better self you’ve forgotten. It is a nourishment, and it is a healing.
Jazz is an art capable of rewilding the individual and the collective soul. It is a lyrical and beautiful representation of basic American rights and responsibilities, expressed in three fundamentals: improvisation, swing, and the blues.
Improvisation is our freedom to be ourselves and to be creative. Swing is the responsibility to find and nurture balance and community with other individuals. And the blues, it gives us the acuity and the optimism to stay with things that we care about even if they prove to be full of hardship.
I deeply admire the work that American Prairie has done to restore our prairie lands. Of course, the battle over this restoration is very complicated. Our country clearly believes in commercial exploitation and its attendant philosophies, but we have yet to grasp the central significance of civic investment to the mental, financial, and cultural health of our democracy.
We are still quite young, but we must always be willing to fight to
protect the defining elements of our national character. One day, I know the nation is going to be grateful for this legacy, as they will also continue to be thankful for the excellent and insightful canon of Ken Burns. His rightly celebrated work has given us a penetrating gaze into the hidden corners of our soul. Ken searches tirelessly for the answer to one deceivingly simple question: Who are we? It’s an answer that one person cannot possibly know, but every day gives us the opportunity to do what we can to be our very best selves and the search is the power.
— WYNTON MARSALIS
Academy® Award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer, and professional mountain sports athlete
Jimmy Chin has dedicated his life’s work to exploring some of the most remote and rugged places on the planet. He has led or participated in cutting-edge expeditions around the world for more than 20 years. He made the coveted first ascent of the Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru and is one of the only people to ski Mount Everest from the summit. His photographs have graced the covers of National Geographic Magazine and New York Times Magazine.
In recognition of his prolific work exploring, documenting, and preserving a variety of landscapes around the world
JIMMY CHIN
– as well as his personal and professional accomplishments that reinforce the nation’s understanding of all that is possible – American Prairie and Ken Burns .honored Chin as the recipient of the 2022 Ken Burns American Heritage Prize.
“The nation’s landscapes and mountains have provided me with much of my inspiration both in life and in my work,” Chin says. “I try as a filmmaker and photographer to capture and share what I experience in the natural world. My hope is that I can help foster a sense of responsibility to protect and preserve these places, both for future generations to enjoy and for their intrinsic value. The mission of American Prairie, to
create the largest nature reserve in the contiguous United States and restore a complete and fully functioning prairie ecosystem, pushes up against the limits of what we think is possible in the world of conservation. Much of what I do is in pursuit of exploring the limitlessness of the human spirit and potential. I’ve seen the impossible achieved over and over again. am honored to receive a prize bearing the name of the inimitable Ken Burns, from an institution whose work is achieving the impossible.”
Learn more about the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize at KenBurnsPrize.com.
EDUCATION ON THE PRAIRIE corner
The American Prairie Field School is a new program that strives to educate Montana middle school students on the significance and importance of the prairie ecosystem.
American Prairie partnered with the Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS) – a nonprofit with the mission to inspire curiosity, awareness, and understanding of nature and science through quality educational experiences – to develop the STEM-focused curriculum.
The year-long program includes a school visit from a Field School instructor, and culminates with a spring field trip to American Prairie. The students travel to the Antelope Creek Campground at Mars Vista where they spend three days immersed in the prairie under Montana’s big skies. Students meet with researchers from American Prairie and the Smithsonian Institute to learn about astronomy, plant biology, wildlife ecology, geology, and natural and human history.
To learn more about the field school, visit americanprairie.org/fieldschool
AMERICAN PRAIRIE FIELD SCHOOL IN YOUR BACKYARD!
Even though the Field School is only offered in Montana, you can become a field scientist too! Here are some ways to explore your environment just like we do on the prairie. Before you go, you will need a nature journal (notebook), a pencil or colored pencil set, and an adult to walk and learn with you.
animal Mystery
At the American Prairie Field School, we head out to the prairie and search the landscape for things that animals leave behind. We look for signs of animals like pronghorn, prairie dogs, birds, and coyotes. If we look close enough, we can find tracks, fur, and scat (that’s poop)! Ask a grown-up to take a trip with you outside to your backyard or to a park and see what signs of wildlife you can find! Record your findings in your nature journal using words and/or illustrations. Can you figure out what kinds of animals live near you? You may find signs of wildlife such as gray squirrels, robins, ants, and more.
Porcupine tracks in the snow
fuel your wanderlust
If you can’t make it to American Prairie in person, here are a few ways you can join us in spirit. Check out these books, video, and podcast recommendations from our newest employees.
PODCAST:
Rewilding Earth - Episode 15
“Nicole does a great job describing the prairie and why it is so important to protect. If you have never had the chance to experience the prairie, this podcast is a great way to learn about the landscape and why it is so special.”
PATAGONIA DOCUMENTARY: Public Trust
“Public Trust does a great job highlighting the connections between public lands and politics, and it artfully explains why both matter so much to the future of our country.”
We are so thankful to our friends and supporters for their help in accomplishing this mission.
When you become a supporter of American Prairie, you are protecting the shortgrass prairie ecosystem now and for future generations.
BOOK:
Montana Peaks, Streams And Prairie: A Natural History by
E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
“Local Lewistown author E. Donnall Thomas Jr., a physician by profession, is also an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. A conglomeration of the mountains, streams and prairies of Montana, this book will satisfy not only the hunter, but also the naturalist and lover of wild things. This book provides inspiration for the reader to seek the northern prairies of Montana in both spirit and personal adventure.”
BOOK: My Ántonia by Willa
Cather
“Reading Willa Cather’s novel, My Ántonia in my high school American Studies course solidified my love for the prairie. Bravery, independence, loyalty and grit are just a few qualities that main character Jim Burden sees in his new friend Ántonia as she and her immigrant family make their home on the Great Plains. If you’re looking to be inspired by ruggedness, unforeseen friendship, and hardihood– this book is for you.”
FEATURED PARTNER:
Parks Project’s mission is to leave it better than we found it. Parks Project’s goal is to protect and preserve parklands for generations to come by educating, advocating, volunteering, and activating park supporters to get involved in conservation. To date, Parks Project has contributed over $2,000,000 to help fund vital projects in national parks around the US. Every Parks Project product contributes to park needs including habitat restoration, animal conservation, educational initiatives, and visitor services.
As we assemble land for American Prairie, Parks Project is dedicating proceeds from sales of this shirt to fund the removal of obsolete fencing for the benefit of prairie wildlife. American Prairie is proud to partner with Parks Project to help raise awareness for our cause.
Please use the promo code AMERICANPRAIRIE30 for a 30% discount on the American Prairie t-shirt (and other Parks Project products)!
lives of a myriad of characters on an invented Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota, and is my favorite of her many books. It weaves a complex web of relationships, language, history, loss, spirituality, and struggle - with a little magical realism to boot. The rugged prairie landscape looms in the background not just as a setting, but as a kind of character of its own, shaping everything else.”
BOOK:
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
“Louise Erdrich’s novel The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse chronicles the
Eliza Krause, Philanthropy Specialist
Dan Mahoney, Public Policy Specialist
Dusty Rixford, Education Coordinator
Anna Schale, National Discovery Center Coordinator
