Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 8 32 at mission involves creating the largest wildlife reserve in the continental United States by stitching together 3 million acres of public land and roughly 500,000 acres of private land. When finished, the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge will be linked together by American Prairie Reserve's deeded private property and leased public (BLM) land, creating one continuous wildlife complex. Restoring bison to its native prairie habitat is critical to this project because it is a keystone species, which means they alter the food web and landscapes around them in ways that improve biodiversity. Scientists say this vast region of northeastern Montana is one of only four places left on the planet where large-scale conservation of grasslands is still possible. at's because it's home to one of the largest areas of intact prairie left in the U.S. When farmers plow grasslands to plant crops, it's literally called "breaking" the prairie. And once it's broken, fixing the landscape can be as hard as trying to milk a bull. With millions of dollars raised and approximately 400,000 acres under its control, American Prairie Reserve has proven it has stay- ing power. But the project does not come without criticism. Some argue it's not a level playing field when it comes to purchasing land in the region. ey claim that American Prairie Reserve's nonprofit status gives the organization an unfair tax advantage, enabling it to raise millions of dollars to out-bid private parties in ranch acquisitions. But Geddes says those allegations are simply not true. "If that were the case, we'd never lose a land deal," said Geddes. "Over the years there have been a total of four deals where we've been in direct competition with our neighbors and we've walked away from those deals because we got into a situation where we felt the asking price was higher than the underlying value of the property." Geddes says he gets calls every week from people in the region wanting to sell to APR because they believe the organization is willing to pay any price for land. "We don't engage in that game and we only pay a fair-market price," he added. "We have strong incentives not to drive up the cost of land." Cattle ranchers in some surrounding communities are worried their way of life is being threatened not only by the Reserve's land acquisitions, but also by the organization's plans to grow their bison herd. Some fear that fewer fences and more bison will radically Recreation Manager for American Prairie Reserve, Mike Kautz, rides past a bison herd not far from Buffalo Campground.

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