The Big Picture

American Prairie Foundation (APF) believes everyone should be able to enjoy the natural resources on American Prairie Reserve (APR) through activities such as hiking, bird watching, horseback riding, camping, bicycling and hunting. APR will never be “locked up” from public use. Instead, both the public and private lands that comprise APR will be thoughtfully managed toward a quality outdoor experience to be enjoyed by the general public.

Progress to Date

Much of the American Prairie Reserve is already open to visitors and in 2010 we’ll take a major step toward improving public access by opening our first campground. We’ve selected a site, drawn up plans and will build a multi-use trail as well. Please see the VISIT section of our website to learn more about what you can see and do on and around the Reserve.

We will continue to study which types of tourism activities are compatible in an area managed for prairie wildlife. We are also developing relationships with local vendors that may benefit from operating on the Reserve.

Next Steps

For three years now, we have been participants in the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Block Management Program (a cooperative program that opens private lands for hunting), which currently includes more than 13,000 acres of APF’s deeded land. APF will continue to work with Bureau of Land Management on ways to improve public access to their public lands leased to APF.