We imagine the future American Prairie as the very portrait of North American wildness.
Our vision is to fully restore the shortgrass prairie ecosystem in an identified region of Montana’s plains. The habitat diversity of the area includes expansive shortgrass prairie, sagebrush steppe, the Missouri River Breaks, nearby island mountain ranges, and the streams and riparian corridors that are woven throughout. Successful restoration means the wildlife species that are native to this region are present and fulfilling their natural ecological role, and that biodiversity is being conserved at all levels. When restored, the American Prairie Ecosystem will also contain ecologically meaningful populations of all non-extinct, native species present in the reference ecosystem (i.e., the Upper Missouri River ecosystem, circa 1800), with management focused on maximizing the integrity, complexity, and resilience of the system.
Wildlife– in all its diversity– evolved here, and belongs here, because the land can support a biodiverse and resilient ecosystem. Wildlife contributes to the land’s beauty, the natural resources it provides, and the unique ways of life that it can support. People – in all our diversity – have come here, and belong here, because we love the land. We love its beauty, the natural resources it provides, and the unique ways of life that it supports. American Prairie exists to reinforce these truths and to share them with the world; to conserve the land and its biodiversity as a refuge for wildlife and people.