Rallying partners for wildlife in the Northern Great Plains

Visitors to the Northern Great Plains are often surprised by what they see. Herds of elk, pronghorn, mule deer and bison still roam the great open spaces, offering glimpses of the continent’s prehistoric past. Strutting grassland birds perform elaborate courtship rituals that play out not in tree branches, but on “lekking grounds” nestled in the rolling grasslands. 

The place certainly left an impression on Theodore Roosevelt, an iconic figure in American conservation who spent formative years on his cattle ranch in North Dakota. “It was here that the romance of my life began,” Roosevelt once said. “... I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.” 

Cattle ranching and other agricultural pursuits still play a defining role in North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as the neighboring states of Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming that together encompass much of the Northern Great Plains. 
Conservation success in the Northern Great Plains hinges on finding — and funding — win-win projects that generate measurable results for wildlife while earning enthusiastic support from local landowners, many of whom share Roosevelt’s deep connection to wildlife and appreciation of the natural beauty of America’s vast grasslands. 

In 2024, NFWF leveraged multiple conservation  programs to invest more than $30 million in landscape-scale projects across the Northern Great Plains. This  critical work drew support from a range of funding partners, from federal agencies to energy companies, major food producers and distributors, and philanthropic foundations. 

The grants included $2.5 million to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to enhance, restore and sustain native grasslands. Such projects will help ensure that wildlife and rural communities continue to thrive in a bedrock region of American conservation. 

Watch: NFWF and the Bezos Earth Fund are conserving vital grassland habitat in the Northern Great Plains
 

Contributing Partners: Bezos Earth Fund, Burger King, Capri Holdings, Cargill, Marathon Oil, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Native Americans in Philanthropy, Nestle, Occidental, Sysco, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

This story originally appeared in NFWF's 2024 Annual Report.