American Prairie purchases wildlife-rich Blue Ridge Ranch

The Blue Ridge property is nestled in the Larb Hills and shares a five-mile border with American Prairie's Burnt Lodge unit. The acquisition expands American Prairie Reserve’s connectivity to migratory pathways for wildlife from neighboring protected areas such as the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. It is part of the American Prairie mission to grow contiguous habitat area, which is essential to restoring ecosystem biodiversity on the prairie.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Keep going!

[@robertcalamusso4218]

Great

[@PrimitiveTim]

Congrats on the new purchase! I would love to come visit one day!

[@JamesAdams-ev6fc]

If we’re honest, the idea of restoring part of the prairie as a Reserve has a lot of appeal. On the other hand, I understand the rancher’s concerns about the loss of a way of life. I wonder if the Reserve could not maintain the homesteads of large ranches voluntarily sold, making them into Living History Museums, or one Living History Museum (see below). This would keep memories of the familes alive for future generations. Besides that, you could make the environs of the homesteads into way-stations for visitors. This would combine ecotourism with history. You see this sort of land use in the Hudson Valley in New York, and it creates a heady mix of nature and the human experience. If this proves to be too expensive, you could move parts of all the homesteads to a central site (Colonial Williamsburg of the West?), with markers indicating where individual homesteads were.

[@donaldpedigo296]

....HUGS & KISSES TO ALL INVOLVED IN THIS DEDICATED-EFFORT TO PRESERVE & PROTECT OUR NATION'S DWINDLING PRAIRIE ECOSYSTEMS....BEST TO YOU....

[@mc_fresh3370]

👍

[@man-who-sold-the-world]

I am on a no fly list, so cant visit.

[@JustinWayneDawg]

Then walk.