P.O. Box 908
Bozeman, MT 59771
americanprairie.org
American Prairie Reserve
Newsletter
October 2008
Message from the President
At APF, we are, of course, primarily focused on wildlife
and wildlife habitat. However, American Prairie Reserve
will always include a strong element of human beings and
their long and continuing association with this beautiful and
unique landscape. In this issue we tell brief stories about just
some of those people. We recently publicized a review of
the book Revolution on the Range by Courtney White, which,
as one of its messages, promotes the need for landowners of all types to
gather often, get to know one another, exchange views, and seek common
ground. A recent Community Open House on the Reserve brought seventyfive local residents together for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon to do just
that. Some weeks earlier, Dennis Jorgensen of World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Northern Great Plains (http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/ngp/) was honored by members of the Nakota and Gros Ventre tribes at an event indicative of our continuing interaction with the members of Fort Belknap Reservation. Our recommended books this month are also about people on the prairie, some contemporary and some who
lived hundreds of years ago. I hope you will enjoy all these stories about people from in and around the Reserve area,
and we hope that you, too, become part of the rich cultural element of this amazing part of America.
Sean
APF Hosts Community Members on American Prairie Reserve
Despite the looming threat of thunderstorms, more than seventy-five of APF’s neighbors joined us on September 6th
for our first Community Open House. Most boarded a school bus in Malta for the 50-mile trip to APF’s Reserve Headquarters. A few others braved the washboard roads in their own vehicles, including a contingent from the nearby Fort
Belknap Indian Reservation. We even had two out-of-town visitors who happened to be passing through Malta and
heard about the event from our friends at the Phillips County Museum.
The rain, mercifully, held off and we treated our visitors to a fun-filled day that included bison pasture tours hosted by
our own “Buffalo” Bill Willcutt, bird watching walks with Fritz Prellwitz, wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Land Managment, a live reptile demonstration by World Wildlife Fund’s Dennis Jorgensen, cast iron cooking demo by APF’s Dennis
Lingohr, and lots of games and crafts for kids. Malta caterer Liz Brown provided a delicious lunch.
photos by B. Christensen
We always enjoy spending time with our neighbors and offering them the opportunity to learn more about our project.
We look forward to many more gatherings of the local community on American Prairie Reserve.
WWF Update
On August 8, 2008, the Harlem Wildcat dancers honored World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) Program Officer Dennis Jorgensen in a traditional honor ceremony in
Mission Canyon near Hays, Montana. The ceremony was in recognition of the
mutual opportunities shared with WWF, American Prairie Foundation (APF) and
the Harlem Wildcat Indian Dance Troupe, a traditional dance group including
both the Nakota and Gros Ventre nations. The ceremony, preceded by a traditional meal,
began when two dancers wrapped a beautiful, traditionally patterned “Circle of Life” woolen
blanket over Dennis’ shoulders. The Fort Belknap Singers drummed and sang a song that
echoed through the canyon. The Circle of Life, or Elders, blanket honors all tribal Elders, the
Wisdomkeepers who hand down teachings and spiritual direction to
the children. WWF and APF work to build strong relationships with
the communities in the American Prairie Reserve region. This event
recognized the growing relationship between the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, WWF’s Northern Great Plains Program, and APF. In addition to its science
work on American Prairie Reserve, WWF is participating in wildlife studies and species reintroductions on tribal lands in the Northern Great Plains. Please enjoy a podcast of the Harlem
Wildcat Indian Dance Troupe’s performance: http://www.americanprairie.org/sights.html.
What We’re Reading Now...
The Wide Open: Prose, Poetry, and Photographs of the Prairie
edited by Annick Smith and Susan O’Connor
The open prairie is America’s quintessential landscape, although it remains a land so patiently
alive we might miss it. Its biography is definitive of the American experience, and this volume
provides a well-rounded view of its challenge to the imaginative mind and the adventurous
heart. Stories by some of our very finest modern writers and photographers range from fiction
to childhood histories to nonfiction narratives, including works by Native American prairie
dwellers. These pieces eloquently attest to the prairie’s abundance in all its human and natural
variety, offering pictures as wide open and rich as the land they depict, and the most balanced
view we’ve seen of this culture, full of heartbreaking beauty and mystery.
- taken from Bill McKibben, author of The Bill McKibben Reader (Bill McKibben 20080314) and Frederick Turner,
author of Beyond Geography: The Western Spirit Against the Wilderness (Frederick Turner )
Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off and Other Lessons from the Lewis & Clark Trail
by Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs
In essays both historical and personal, Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs revisits the Lewis and Clark
Trail and its famous people, landmarks, and events, exploring questions the expedition continues to raise. Ambrose Tubbs broadens and deepens our understanding of events and personalities more than two centuries old. Even more importantly, she makes fresh connections to moral
lessons for today. Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs first fell under the trail’s spell at sixteen and has
been following in Lewis and Clark’s path ever since. Tubbs recounts her travels along the trail
by foot, Volkswagen bus, and canoe, intertwined with her father’s and family’s lives. More than
two hundred years later, the “voyage of discovery”—with its outsized characters, geographic
marvels, and wondrous moments of adventure and mystery—continues to draw us along the
Lewis and Clark Trail.
- taken from Landon Jones, author of William Clark and the Shaping of the West (Landon Jones ), and Dayton
Duncan, author of Out West: A Journey through Lewis and Clark’s America (Dayton Duncan 20071213)
APF Welcomes Bryce Christensen
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Bryce Christensen who joined American Prairie
Foundation last month as our new Manager of Field Operations. Bryce’s distinguished career includes thirty-three years with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, from which he retired, having most
recently served as Regional Director for southeastern Montana. His three decades of experience
in wildlife management make Bryce ideally suited to oversee the operations of the growing
American Prairie Reserve. Bryce holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from University
of Montana. He and his wife, Christine, recently moved from Miles City, MT to Malta, MT.
APF by the Numbers
5 Billion
142 Million 24,000
30-50
6 1/2
Number of prairie dogs spread hundreds of miles across the prairie, prior to pioneer settlement.
Number of acres tallgrass prairie once covered.
Pounds of roots in the average acre of established prairie.
Pounds of forage a bison can consume each day.
Feet tall at the shoulder, the typical height of an adult male bison.
We thank you for your support! Please visit us on the web at americanprairie.org.
Questions or comments? Contact Ganay at ganay@americanprairie.org or 406-922-0796. If you
would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please contact Ganay as well.
The APF newsletter is printed on 100% recycled paper!