The Great Plains not only occupy the center of the North American continent, but also figure centrally in our cultural consciousness.  Because this region was the last part of the North American continent to be settled by Europeans, the shape of the natural landscape is still clearly visible beneath the thin veneer of civilization only recently laid over it.  The prairie culture still has collective memories of a vast sky, blackened by swarms of migrating insects or birds, or vistas filled with spectacular numbers of bison, elk, and pronghorn visible to the horizon of a seemingly endless plain.

This is a big landscape, and it inspired awe and appreciation of the fertility of the earth in a way that perhaps was unrivaled in its time, a place where European nobility and American artists came simply to marvel.  But over the span of just a few decades in the late 1800s, the naturally functioning Great Plains disappeared, plowed for crops and fenced into tame pastures that gave little, if any, consideration to natural processes like drought that dramatically dominate the grasslands to this day. 

Yet the region is coming full circle.  Farming and ranching continue, but there is growing recognition, evidenced by the decline of prairie towns, outmigration of young people, and failing local economies, that the grand experiment that turned much of the ocean of grass into wheat and cattle production has had mixed results.  We have a brief opportunity, as we catch our collective breath at this divide in history, to reshape our relationship with these grasslands.

As conservationists, political leaders, tribal members, ranchers, farmers, recreationists, and local residents, we have an opportunity that may not come again to chart a path for renewal of both human and natural communities of the Great Plains.  We believe there is power in working with the natural processes that shaped both the landscape and the plants and animals within it.  By restoring the biodiversity of the plains, we will restore the spirit of those who live and work here, and capture the imagination and interest of people throughout the world. 

With this in mind, grassroots and regional conservation organizations working in the Northern Great Plains formed the Northern Plains Conservation Network (NPCN) in 2000 to coordinate their mutual interests in grassland conservation and chart a future course for the Northern Great Plains that recognizes the importance of a conservation alternative to the current trend.  The focus of our efforts for renewal of Great Plains biodiversity is the Northern Great Plains Ecoregion, an area that World Wildlife Fund has identified among its “Global 200”, one of the 238 most biologically significant places on Earth.  NPCN’s ambitious goal is to achieve prairie conservation on a scale that will allow all the creatures of the plains to return as natural components of the landscape.

NPCN’s vision provides an unparalleled opportunity to guide the renewal of human communities in the ecoregion as well.  NPCN recognizes four guiding principles for accomplishing its objectives while bringing new opportunities for plains communities:

• The importance of private land conservation, including fostering stewardship of private lands, developing incentives for private land conservation, and acquiring land for conservation at fair market value from willing sellers; • That the land and its wildlife are important culturally and spiritually for many North American native people, a growing demographic group that is already renewing its long relationship with the land; • That a healthy and diverse economy is important to local communities, and that conservation initiatives by both the public and private sector in the NGP can stimulate economic activity.  In many areas a viable farm and ranch economy combined with a wildlife-based economy may provide a more robust and resilient economic base for small towns and cities than either economic sector alone can provide; and • The importance of partnerships with local communities in achieving the vision.

Many Great Plains landscapes are highly altered and some key species no longer occur in numbers that are ecologically functional.  We suspect that much of the biological dynamism and resilience of the prairie ecosystem is therefore missing.  With less than 1.5% of the ecoregion in national parks, wildlife refuges and other areas designated primarily for biodiversity conservation, society cannot maintain, much less restore, the remarkable flora and fauna of the region.

As a starting point, this analysis identifies ten ecologically significant terrestrial conservation areas in the U.S. and Canadian plains that we believe could form the core for large-scale landscape restoration efforts.  Some of the largest blocks of untilled prairie remaining in North America are contained within them.  Many offer restoration potential for the black-tailed prairie dog ecosystem, a key Great Plains ecosystem.  Outstanding opportunities exist to restore and preserve habitat for a suite of endangered and sensitive species.  This analysis also identifies nine exceptional aquatic riparian ecosystems in the ecoregion.  Some of the longest reaches of undammed rivers in North America exist within the ecoregion, providing opportunities to conserve habitat for fish and other water-dependent species.  This analysis is intended to support NPCN’s vision that all native species and ecosystems within the Northern Great Plains have a secure future.

NPCN members are already working toward realizing conservation at large scales in many of the areas we have identified.  In addition, NPCN’s long-term measures of success for conservation include:

• Ecologically sustainable management in both the agricultural and non-agricultural portions of the landscape that:
(a) reduces further loss of native prairie; (b) limits spread of non-native plant and animal species that are destructive to native biodiversity; (c) leads to widespread adoption of grazing practices that maintain and restore native prairie habitats and species diversity; (d) restores all populations of indigenous species and secures their long-term viability, including restoration of at least two populations of 10,000 or more wild bison; and (e) ensures that flows in the Missouri River and other rivers in the ecoregion can support the full complement of aquatic and riparian-dependent species.

• About 10-15% of the northern Great Plains managed in reserves or other protected areas with biodiversity conservation as the primary goal;

Finally, NPCN members are committed to implementing their vision by working cooperatively at the local, regional and national level.  Participating organizations assist each other through building capacity and by designing and implementing projects that address the broad goals of the vision.  The NPCN welcomes feedback on the priorities and plans set forth in this document.  This is a work in progress and we realize that new conservation priorities and opportunities will arise over time.  Moreover, we welcome the cooperation of other organizations and individuals in working toward realizing NPCN’s vision.

The modern conservation movement in North America had its beginning with the efforts to conserve the few remaining American Bison.  It is fitting that we take up, at the beginning of a new century, the conservation challenge offered by those remaining bison - to restore them and their fellow species to their vital roles in the biodiversity of the plains.  As author Richard Manning notes, “The grass can grow again.”