Northern Prairie

Proposed National ParkMontana
A storm over the Missouri River BreaksPhotograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
All proposed National ParksNorthern PrairieNo active campaign
Location
Montana
Current protection
Bureau of Land Management lands beside Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
Status
No active campaign
Tier
Tier 2 · National Monument
In the book
Not featured in Undiscovered America

Why should it be a National Park?

North-central Montana holds one of the largest remaining expanses of intact grassland on the continent, rolling mixed-grass prairie and sagebrush running to the Missouri River breaks, where pronghorn, sage grouse, prairie dogs, and swift foxes still live in numbers.

Grasslands are among the least protected landscapes in America, and bison once crossed these plains by the millions. A prairie park at this scale would be the great plains park people have imagined for generations.

The history of National Park Campaigns

In 2010, a leaked Interior Department paper listed Montana's Northern Prairie, about 2.5 million acres of federal grassland, among 14 places that were good candidates for a national monument. No designation followed. The idea of a great prairie reserve lives on privately: American Prairie has spent two decades assembling land and leases next to Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge to bring bison back to the plains.

Distinct National Park attempts
0
Other designation attempts
1 (2010 prospective monument)

Sources

  • U.S. Department of the Interior, "Prospective Conservation Designation: National Monument Designations under the Antiquities Act" (2010)
  • Society of Environmental Journalists, "BLM Paper on National Monuments, Other Conservation Units Unveiled" (2010)
  • Wikipedia, List of proposed national monuments of the United States
Know of a campaign? Tell us
  1. 1936

    Franklin Roosevelt establishes the Fort Peck Game Range, later Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.

  2. 2001

    The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is proclaimed upriver, and American Prairie begins assembling a private reserve.

  3. 2010

    An Interior Department paper lists Montana's Northern Prairie, about 2.5 million acres, among 14 prospective national monuments.