CONSERVING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS

The 2018 Northern Great Plains Donor Report details WWF's efforts to conserve grassland ecosystems through several key pillars. These include a Ranch Transition Pilot Project to address the risk of 56 million acres of farmland changing hands, and the development of a soil suitability model extending into Canada to predict crop conversion. Bison restoration efforts aim to establish five conservation herds of at least 1,000 bison each by 2025, with significant progress made at Fort Peck Reservation. For endangered species, WWF is testing Fipronil and vaccine baits to combat sylvatic plague in black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs. Additionally, the report highlights the Tribal Working Group on Sustainable Financing's work on tourism assessments and conservation planning for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, alongside collaborations with the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef to implement sustainability metrics in the beef supply chain.

• WWF is launching a Ranch Transition Pilot Project in January 2019 with up to 20 ranchers to address the risk that 70% of US farmland will change hands in the next two decades, which threatens over 56 million acres in the Northern Great Plains.
• WWF aims to establish five conservation bison herds of at least 1,000 animals each in the Northern Great Plains by 2025; as of fall 2018, there are 2,548 bison across four herds managed by tribal, public, and private partners.
• To recover the black-footed ferret, 500,000 acres of prairie dog habitat are required to support 3,000 ferrets in 30 locations. WWF is testing Fipronil and sylvatic plague vaccine baits to reduce flea populations and mitigate the lethal effects of plague on ferrets and prairie dogs.
• WWF developed a soil suitability model using topographic, soil, and climate variables to predict future crop conversion and identify low-quality soils prime for restoration; this data layer now extends into Canada to cover the entire ecoregion.
• Surveys of 61 ranches in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana found they support over 9,800 birds of 116 species, including 3-6% of nesting populations for five species that have seen global declines of 65-90% since the 1960s.
• The Tribal Working Group on Sustainable Financing completed a tourism assessment identifying gaps in infrastructure and marketing, and finished a pilot conservation and financial plan for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe to set five-year goals for wildlife and land management.
• WWF is collaborating with the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) to implement a sustainability framework; a pilot project involving the Montana Stockgrowers Association, JBS USA, and Costco is scheduled to launch in spring 2019 to test sustainability metrics.

APA

WWF International (2018). CONSERVING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1163/2q0koztqlz_WWF___2018_NGP_Report.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. CONSERVING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS. 2018. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1163/2q0koztqlz_WWF___2018_NGP_Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=CONSERVING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS |date=November 2018 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1163/2q0koztqlz_WWF___2018_NGP_Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2018conserving, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{CONSERVING THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1163/2q0koztqlz_WWF___2018_NGP_Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }