American Prairie Foundation is focused on three main goals:

1. To accumulate and wisely manage, based on sound science, enough private land to create and maintain a fully-functioning prairie-based wildlife reserve.
2. To provide a variety of public access opportunities to this wildlife amenity.
3. To ensure that the land remains productive in a way that contributes significantly to the local economy.

LAND

APF is working to acquire enough private land that, when combined with adjacent public lands already devoted to wildlife, will provide people with a unique experience reminiscent of Lewis’ and Clark’s. Thriving herds of elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, pronghorn, and the majestic American bison roam these grasslands. Cottonwoods, willows, and other native vegetation are regenerating along streams, creating habitat for beaver, bobcats, snakes, and other wildlife. Numerous historical sites, like teepee rings, buffalo jumps, and homestead-era structures, are being preserved for visitors’ enjoyment and education.

PUBLIC ACCESS

The plains of eastern Montana offer one of the last remaining areas where a large landscape can be reassembled and made available for public enjoyment. By working with managers of adjacent public and private lands, the opportunity exists to provide visitors with sensational benefits: abundant wildlife, outstanding scenery, and thoughtfully regulated access. We will offer the public a quality outdoor experience, with opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, biking, camping, bird watching, and hunting. APF is working toward enabling visitors to easily experience this spectacular area.

A WORKING LANDSCAPE

Over the years, a variety of forces have affected rural economics in America’s Great Plains. Increased efficiencies in mechanization allow the same productivity levels to occur with far fewer people employed. When combined with other factors, this results in fewer people employed in farming and ranching, with less capital spent locally on equipment, insurance, fuel, and in family-owned businesses.

While agriculture will remain dominant in the region, APF believes a prairie reserve devoted to wildlife can ultimately help diversify local economies. Expenditures on a wildlife reserve, such as road maintenance, fences, overnight facilities, and monitoring of wildlife also compare favorably with agriculture in total dollars spent in a community. Also, economic activity is created as visitors rent vehicles, contract with local guides, and patronize restaurants, hotels, and retail shops.

We don’t expect an overnight transition, but we do anticipate being a positive force in helping make the local economies more robust.