American Prairie

The word is officially out: American Prairie is your basecamp for exploring all that Central Montana has to offer - from the prairie to the island mountain ranges and everywhere in between! Reservations are now open for 2025 - plan your adventure and book today! ???????????? https://lnkd.in/gKkPbGFS

We're exactly eight months away from celebrating 20 years of bison restoration at American Prairie! ?? What better way to mark the occasion than by announcing a new partnership: The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium’s International Conservation Center is now home to four bison from American Prairie. ?? This collaboration is part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Bison Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program, which aims to combine the resources of member zoos with conservation groups and Indigenous partners to further bison restoration and prairie habitat recovery. https://lnkd.in/g5qcYy8Y

Our bison restoration work was recently featured on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom blog! ?? https://lnkd.in/gEEZxQKs

It’s time to update the map and guide again … we finalized the purchase of a new property this week, which means we’ve got a big milestone to celebrate: HALF A MILLION ACRES (and counting!) ?????? This new parcel is connected to our existing Mars Vista property along Highway 191 just north of the Missouri River. It also borders the CMR National Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Read more about the property at the link! We’re working on an updated map and will be sure to post when it’s available. ??? https://lnkd.in/gfG9vW3G

REWILDING ARGENTINA EXCHANGE For me, it is a very rare occasion to travel and visit other large #rewilding initiatives outside Europe. Last time was exactly 10 years ago, when I visited American Prairie Reserve in Montana. But sometimes there is this rare opportunity to visit a place that I could only dream of. I have heard and read about the work of Rewilding Argentina for many years, and the life story of Kristine and the late Dough Tompkins from Tompkins Conservation. Their amazing work in Argentina??????and Chile????? started back in 1992 and the results are very impressive. A long-cherished wish turned into reality when I was invited for a learning and exchange visit to Rewilding Argentina. In November, together with my colleague Carolina ángela Soto-Navarro, and representatives from American Prairie (US ????), Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative (Kazakhstan?????) and Conservation Carpathia (Romania?????), we visited all four parks during an epic, nearly 3-weeks long journey: Iberá Park, El Impenetrable Park, Patagonia Park and Patagonia Azul. It is hard to summarize the numerous impressions, observations and learnings of this visit. But most of them are related to Rewilding Argentina’s overall rewilding model, their engagement with local communities and authorities, land access strategies, species reintroductions, nature tourism infrastructure (including lodges, glamping camp sites and their operations) and the volunteer and research programme. I am still processing a very rich and diverse collection of impressions, lessons and findings, and how we could use these in Rewilding Europe. The landscapes, nature, wildlife and birdlife were amazing, as are the successful reintroduction programmes on jaguar, giant anteater, ocelot, pampas deer, giant river otter, guanaco and others. In total, we observed a staggering 36 mammal species and 238 bird species, with many highlights. You can read here about the work of Rewilding Argentina ???? https://lnkd.in/eqhcjNfh, or experience their parks here at Rewilding Experiences Argentina: ???? https://lnkd.in/eQBjprCK A more than heartfelt?????Thank You?????to the amazing team, especially Sofia Heinonen, Sebastián Di Martino, Lucila Masera and Guadalupe Ayerza. It was fantastic to meet so many team members, including Emiliano Donadio, Gerardo Ceron, Maria Medizabal, Marisi Lopez, Rita Cammisi, Mariana Cassini, Natalia Correa and many others. Thank you for your inspiration, sharing, organisation, hospitality, fun and friendship?????. Our visitor group turned out to be a wonderful bunch of people that only partly knew each other before. Thank you Albert Salemgareyev, Natalya Panchenko, Genevieve Stephens, Daniel Kinka, Mike Quist Kautz, Mihai Ventoniuc, Victoria Donos and last but not least Jim Kearns to make this an unforgettable experience. ???Some of the keystone species (images are my own): Puma, Pampas deer, Maned wolf, Jaguar, Giant river otter, Sea lion

American Prairie is hiring a Chief Operating Officer, to be based in Lewistown (preferred) or Bozeman, MT. This is a cool, big and important job - running and scaling our day-to-day operations, supporting our very talented team and working closely with our board of directors. Few opportunities exist in the United States to work on a project of comparable scale, focus, and measurability of impact as American Prairie. Please check it out and spread the word.

It is our absolute privilege to share that we have donated 109 acres of our PN property to the Montana State Parks Foundation. That parcel packs a lot of historical and cultural significance into just 109 acres: as the confluence of the Judith and Missouri Rivers, the site has longstanding importance for many Indigenous tribes. The first fossils found in the western hemisphere were discovered nearby. The first military fort in Montana was established in the banks of the Judith. We have lots more to share about this special location, and we’re excited about a potential new state park at the site! https://lnkd.in/gUAx2iDb

Our sincerest gratitude goes out to all of our veterans who have served this country with such selflessness and courage - we wish you a very Happy Veterans Day! To further mark the occasion, today we're proud to share a film that we partnered with?@backcountryhunters?and their?@bha_afi?Armed Forces Initiative to produce. "Wild Again" tells the story of a U.S. Navy veteran's return to the outdoors to reclaim a sense of purpose. The setting? Our picturesque and wildlife-rich Blue Ridge property nestled in the Missouri River Breaks. Head to our stories for the link, or visit https://lnkd.in/g5GcAvcn ?? ?? The content of this film is safe for all viewers. #americanprairie?#veteransday?#happyveteransday?#getoutside?#gooutside?#optoutside?#publicaccess?#keepitwild

Happy National Bison Day to our National Mammal, the American Bison (Bison bison) - also known as the buffalo. These animals once roamed the prairies of North America in incomprehensibly vast herds before they were driven to near extinction by the westward push of European settlers. Today they are largely considered a conservation success story thanks to the efforts of tribal programs, conservation agencies and organizations, and commercial producers - but there are still precious few truly wild bison, living and interacting with their environment as their forebears once did. Why is that a galvanizing call to action? Because the bison is unique among keystone species: almost every aspect of the animal’s physical body and behavior has an outsized impact on the environment it inhabits, and on the other animals that share that environment - and sometimes that impact can mean the difference between life and death. Bison wallows (the spots where they roll around to take dust baths and shed their thick winter hide) create depressions in the ground where water can collect, creating habitat for all sorts of birds and bugs and plant life. Bison fur is also twice as warm as sheep’s wool and is used by many species of prairie birds to line their nests, protecting their eggs from the unpredictable and often extreme weather of the Northern Great Plains. In the winter, bison use the big muscles in their necks and front shoulders to plow through snow, cutting pathways and unearthing plants for other grazers like pronghorn. There are so many other examples we could share - and still more that we are just beginning to understand, such as the role bison play in helping grasslands store and sequester carbon. We’d like to use today, National Bison Day, as an opportunity to celebrate these remarkable animals - we’ll be sharing across our social media platforms and collecting all of the posts in a saved Instagram Highlight at the end of the day. You can also always learn more and stay up to date with our bison restoration efforts by visiting our website and subscribing to our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g7JYbYz6 #americanprairie #nationalbisonday #bisonrestoration #bison #buffalo #rewilding

We'll be hosting a screening of the film "Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya" at the National Discovery Center in Lewistown on Tuesday, October 29th at 7 p.m. This award-winning and critically acclaimed film documents the return of the bison (or "iinnii") to Blackfeet ancestral lands. This event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a panel discussion with the film's co-directors. Hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/gh5e-7iM