APR purchases 14,122-acre Blue Ridge Ranch

The American Prairie Reserve announced last Thursday that the organization had purchased the Blue Ridge Ranch located in Southern Phillips County which is a “14,122-acre property" which "is comprised of 9,695 deeded acres and 4,427 leased acres, and brings American Prairie Reserve’s total deeded and leased property to more than 419,000 acres.”

The announcement was sent to news organizations across the state of Montana and reads that the "Blue Ridge property is nestled in the Larb Hills and shares a five-mile border with the Reserve’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 APR’s mission to grow contiguous habitat area, which is essential to restoring ecosystem biodiversity on the prairie.

"Reserve Superintendent Damien Austin said the property brings together a diverse landscape including sagebrush steppe, rocky buttes and breaks, and ponderosa pine covered hills, offering crucial wildlife habitat for many plant and animal species.

“The topography and habitat of Blue Ridge are extremely important to the regional elk population,” said Austin. “We feel very fortunate to be able to add such a wildlife-rich area to the Reserve.

"Blue Ridge is known for its wildlife, including a resident elk herd, bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn, and prairie dogs. Given the robust populations of wildlife, American Prairie Reserve CEO Alison Fox said her team is prepared for increased interest from the public in the area.

“We are very excited to add Blue Ridge to the Reserve and we anticipate recreationists will be as well,” said Fox. “As we’ve done with past land purchases, we need to first take time to familiarize ourselves with the property prior to welcoming the public. The safety of our visitors is a primary concern of the organization.”

The American Prairie Reserves mission statement states that the organizations objective “is to create the largest nature reserve in the continental United States, a refuge for people and wildlife preserved forever as part of America’s heritage. When complete, the Reserve will be part of a landscape encompassing roughly 3 million acres of private and public lands in the region, and it will support all the animals that historically called the Great Plains home, including buffalo, wolves, bears, elk, deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, swift fox, upland birds including the greater sage grouse, birds of prey, and all manner of snakes, amphibians, and insects. Already open to the public for recreation including camping, hunting, fishing, and birding, the Reserve offers visitors a once-in-a-lifetime, horizon-expanding opportunity to reconnect with nature on a truly grand scale.”

At a meeting with “Missoulian” reporter Rob Chaney held in Malta last November, Phillips County Rancher Troy Blunt whose family has ranched in Phillips County for over 100 years, talked about the spending power and tax advantages non-profit organizations like the American Prairie Reserve have over private citizens when it comes to buying ranchland and like many ranchers in the area, when non-profits purchase local ranches they replace local ranch families, which in turn hurts other local businesses and the tax base as a whole.

"The truth is, I can't expand because I cannot compete with the prices they pay," Blunt said. "So what is the future? It takes more cows every year to support a family, more ranch business. How do you get more cows if you can't expand? You're kind of handcuffed."