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In This Issue:
From The President |
A Message From The President
Mid-summer is high visitation season on the Reserve. Visitors from around the U.S. are coming to learn about our progress including increasing bird habitats, stream restoration, the growing bison herd and other initiatives. Two weeks ago, while touring with two executives from National Geographic Society, we experienced daytime temperatures of 107 degrees yet still saw abundant wildlife, even in mid-day. On one particular scorching afternoon we were motoring along a dusty gravel stretch more than thirty miles from any paved roads. We had just finished cautioning our guests that the high heat and noontime sun might make for scarce viewing opportunities when Kyran Kunkel, scientist for World Wildlife Fund, yelled, "ELK!" Not two hundred yards away stood a band of eleven bull elk on the wide-open prairie, miles from any timber or cover. 
They watched us passively, seemingly unfazed by the heat and appearing completely at home in the expansive sagebrush environment. It was just one of the many surprises that only occurs when you are physically out there and moving quietly about this extraordinary landscape. We hope you enjoy this August newsletter and hope you will come experience some prairie adventure for yourself very soon. Sincerly, What We're Reading Now The well-known cowboy poet Paul Zarzyski has added delightful entertainment to a number of American Prairie Safaris through his evening readings in APF's Big Yurt. He has authored many wonderful poetry books including the recent Wolf Tracks On The Welcome Mat, in which he reminds us that the true "wildness" that used to characterize America's "Wild West" is very important for our psyches and that we are in danger of sterilizing the last bits of wildness we have left completely out of our existence. An excerpt from the book jacket: In poem after poem Paul Zarzyski illuminates, enlivens, deciphers our lives. As he invites us into the wide-open spaces of Montana, as well as the resilient territory of our heart, he proves that either landscape becomes a source of infinite possibilities. APF Welcomes Dennis Linghor
Get a Prairie Bird or Animal Ringtone!
Spotlight on APF Supporters & Friends
Thank you to Steve and Diane for their continuing support. To see more of their work, please visit their website, HargreavesPhoto.com. APF and You - Recent Events Update
A Word From Our Science Partners In April, World Wildlife Fund launched their first test for restoring native grasses and forbs to former cropland on the Reserve. Approximately 60 acres were seeded with western wheatgrass, slender wheatgrass, green needlegrass and Sandberg's bluegrass. There are plans to restore hundreds of additional acres in the coming years. We will keep you posted with our progress in this area. WWF also welcomes a new member to their Northern Great Plains staff. Dennis Jorgensen has joined the team as their new Program Officer to coordinate WWF's work on the Reserve and with neighboring landowners and land and wildlife management agencies. Dennis and his family recently moved to Montana from Calgary and are excited to be living in Zortman, just down the road from the Reserve. APF Website Update American Prairie Foundation's website continues to evolve, and we hope you will take time to peruse some of the updated information, in particular the sections on Project Progress and the growing list of supporters on our Benefactors page. Coming soon will be APF's first web-based wildlife video shorts, allowing viewers to enjoy learning about prairie birds and animals through the incredible cinematography of APF supporters Steve and Diane Hargreaves. For a sneak peek at some of their work visit their website and check out the On Assignment section. |
Dear Friends of the American Prairie Reserve,
We would like to extend a hearty welcome to Dennis Linghor who joined APF July 15th as Assistant Reserve Manager. Dennis previously worked thirty-one years with the Montana Bureau of Land Management in Phillips County overseeing BLM grazing allotments across more than a quarter of a million acres and encompassing more than sixty properties. In his new role at APF Dennis is assisting with overall management of the American Prairie Reserve, including overseeing the bison herd and controlling fires, as well as providing advice and assistance regarding grazing privileges that APF has on more than forty thousand acres of BLM allotments. His three decades of experience on the local landscape make Dennis an ideal tour guide for visiting supporters and, as an archeology enthusiast, Dennis will assist with mapping the numerous archeological sites in and around the Reserve, which house tepee rings, stone points, hand tools and other artifacts that tell stories of thousands of years of human existence on the prairie.
We are excited to announce that American Prairie Foundation is currently being featured at 
You've seen her photos on our website and promotional materials, and if you've attended an APF event you've undoubtedly seen one of his videos. Steve and Diane have been loyal friends to American Prairie Foundation since the beginning and have continued to impress us with their incredible footage, wildlife sound clips, and photos. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. 
We are currently working with Steve, a wildlife cinematographer, to add short video and sound clips to our website. We hope to have that feature available to you by the next newsletter, but for a sample of his incredible work check out this video of prairie dogs and black footed ferrets recently featured at 
On Saturday, June 16, 2007, the Prairie Union School near Malta, Montana, came alive again as over 100 visitors poked around the old building and mementos at a dedication and barbeque honoring those who attended and taught at one-room school houses on the prairie. Hosted by APF and made possible by the commitment and hard work of Bill and Dollyann Willcutt (APF staff) and the Biehl family, many local visitors viewed the event as a reunion that would never happen again and were especially delighted to see old friends and renew acquaintances. 
One former school teacher and seven former students beamed for the multitude of cameras, and later over 60 people shared memories of attending rural schools during a story circle discussion at the APF yurt complex. Dollyann reported the most popular comments were that visitors wanted more APF field trips to the Reserve and were thrilled to learn what a yurt was!© 2004-2007 American Prairie Foundation All Rights Reserved