A Message From The President

Dear Friends of the American Prairie Reserve,
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Africa this summer with others from APF to continue learning about how American Prairie Reserve might eventually take its place among the most cherished and admired wildlife conservation projects anywhere. Take a moment to view some of the links to see the projects and reserves, which were so inspiring to us.
Check out the Sights and Sounds link on the APF website which features faster loading video and audio clips. We have a great deal of visitation underway this fall, including people entering the area by boat on the beautiful Missouri River. We hope to see you there soon.

Sincerely,

Sean Gerrity
APF President

APF Board Trip to Namibia and Botswana

In June, APF board members Clyde Aspevig, Elizabeth Ruml and Sean Gerrity, along with Ivy Merriot who was representing the tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, visited Namibia with a small group of conservationists from the United States. Prior to the Namibia trip, Clyde Aspevig and Sean Gerrity were also hosted for three days in Botswana at the Selinda Reserve’s Zibadianja Camp in the Okavango Delta run by Derek and Beverly Jobert.

Our Namibian adventure was expertly hosted by World Wildlife Fund Namibia and was designed to educate our group about the successful creation of six now well-established African reserves that have a number of similarities to the American Prairie Reserve project. Many of the reserves we visited were conceived in the early to mid 1980s. Since the American Prairie effort began in 2002, the effect on our small group was one of being teleported 15 or 20 years into the future to witness what the American Prairie Reserve might one day look like as far as the immense size of the landscape, outdoor adventure opportunities and accommodations. We learned a great deal about their youth education programs, how they involve and include tribal members from the areas surrounding the reserves, their wildlife management regimens, local economic impact, guide training programs, visitation and other topics relevant to our efforts. We made many wonderful contacts, all of whom offered to serve as ongoing mentors and advisors to APF in the years to come.

Please visit the links below to learn more about these unique and inspiring wildlife conservation efforts:

www.selindareserve.com
www.wilderness-safaris.com/namibia_kunene/damaraland_camp/introduction/
www.waterbergnamibia.com/nature_con.php
www.africatravelresource.com
www.wolwedans-namibia.com
www.namibrand.com
www.ongava.com

Missoula Art Museum Features Prairie Photographs

On September 5th, the Missoula Art Museum in Missoula, Montana opened an exhibition called The Wide Open featuring the photography of three accomplished contemporary photographers: Lee Friedlander, Lois Conner and Geoffrey James. These black and white images comprise the artists’ interpretations of the Great Plains of northeastern Montana. The photographs are compiled, along with prose and poetry from 22 prominent writers, in a volume entitled The Wide Open, edited by Annick Smith and APF board member Susan O’Connor.

The exhibition is coordinated to correspond with the release of the book and proceeds from sales of the book are in support of APF. The exhibition will remain open to the public through January 10, 2009. For more information: http://www.missoulaartmuseum.org/.

Resoring Natural Stream Processes

In keeping with American Prairie Foundation’s goal of creating and maintaining a fully functioning wildlife reserve, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been working to restore natural stream corridors in the Telegraph Creek basin. These efforts include removal of instream diversion dams that may limit connectivity thereby restricting fish movements in the basin. Prairie streams, and stretches within each stream, need to stay connected so that fish populations can continue to survive after major disturbances such as drought.

In May 2006, Martha Kauffman (WWF Fellow) and Dr. Robert Bramblett (Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Montana State University) inventoried creeks in the Telegraph Creek basin to document the presence and relative abundance of fish species and habitat conditions. In 2007 three dams were removed on American Prairie Reserve (APR). In June 2008, with the help of APF intern Keith McHugh and WWF intern Nick Berenson, they re-sampled the creeks to determine whether the dam removals had resulted in recolonization of up-stream reaches. There were two particularly noteworthy findings. One was that fish have recolonized upstream of the breached dam; Kauffman and Bramblett documented fathead minnows in a stretch of stream that had no fish in 2006. The second was the discovery of a large bigmouth buffalo (900 mm) in lower Telegraph Creek. The presence of this large native fish species illustrates the importance of small prairie streams as seasonal, and perhaps spawning, habitat for fishes normally associated with larger bodies of water. In summary, by restoring the natural processes of connectivity, streamflow and scour, the conditions needed for increased species richness are being restored.

What We're Reading Now
Revolution on the Range: The Rise of a New Ranch in the American West by Courtney White

When the American Prairie Reserve complex is fully realized, it will be surrounded by millions of acres of agricultural operations. Courtney White’s new book Revolution on the Range provides wise counsel on how livestock ranching and wildlife conservation efforts can exist side by side and even complement one another given they often largely share the same values about the land and wildlife protection.

At American Prairie Foundation we think it is our responsibility to understand the nature of our neighbors’ businesses and work to be viewed by all as a welcome addition to the culture and economy on the high plains.

New Reserve Area Recommendations:

While visiting the Reserve, we recommend the great food and accomodations at Tillmans Bed and Breakfast - Please visit www.tillmansofmontana.com to learn more!