Montana nature reserve purchases 800-acre property
The Billings Gazette
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FILE - In this April 25, 2012, file photo, a herd of bison move through land controlled by the American Prairie Reserve south of Malta, Mont.. The reserve has purchased the 800-acre historic property along Cow Creek in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.Matthew Brown/AP
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Eight-hundred acres (324 hectares) of historic property along Cow Creek in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument has been purchased by the American Prairie Reserve, the group announced on Thursday.
“I hope it will be of good use to the American Prairie Reserve,” said Lorraine Mcgough. “It is a place near and dear to my heart.”
Courtesy APR
nd land acquisition and brings their total acreage to 420,425.
Named for Cow Creek, the property lies just four miles north of the Missouri River. In a release, they say it is adjacent to existing APR land and the secluded, rugged location inside the National Monument offers plentiful grazing for wildlife and attracts elk, deer and big horn sheep. Â
âProperties like Cow Creek connect existing public lands and provide crucial habitat, helping us to create a contiguous landscape where wildlife can thrive,â Alison Fox, CEO of APR, said.
The area is three miles long, half a mile wide and falls within the Cow Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and the Cow Creek Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Both are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the areasâ important historical and cultural values, in addition to providing critical fish and wildlife habitat and opportunities for recreation.