国家地理 牧野分歧(3)（在线收听）

But here on the plains' western edge, where the climate is unforgiving and the boom-and-bust farming economy is equally remorseless, swaths of prairie remain largely unbroken. In 2000 a group of conservationists identified this region as critical for preserving grassland biodiversity. In 2001 one member of that group, a spare, soft-spoken biologist named Curt Freese, teamed up with a Montana native named Sean Gerrity to form the American Prairie Reserve, or APR. Gerrity, a kinetic former Silicon Valley consultant with an unruly mop of white hair, says the idea was to "move fast and be nimble," in the manner of a high-tech start-up. The group would use private money to patch together 3.2 million acres, or 5,000 square miles, of private and public grassland along the Missouri River, acquiring ranches from "willing sellers" at market prices. It would remove the cattle that grazed the land, stock it with 10,000 or more bison, tear out interior fences, restore native vegetation, and create the conditions in which the region's lost wildlife could return and thrive. Grassland biodiversity requires abundance, Freese says. "You've got to think big."

但我们此刻所在的草原西缘气候酷劣，大起大落的农业经济同样无情，因而仍有成片的草地被大致保全。2000年，一群保育工作者将这里定为保护草地多样性的关键地区；2001年，其中一名生物学家库尔特·弗里兹与蒙大拿本地居民肖恩·格里蒂共同创建了美国大草原保护组织（简称APR）。总闲不住的格里蒂以前在硅谷当过顾问，一头扫帚般的乱白发，声称该组织的行动主旨与高科技创业一样要“快速行动，灵活处理”。APR计划依靠私募资金，在密苏里河沿岸从愿意出售者手中以市场价买下他们的牧场，把该地区公有和私有的320万英亩（5000平方英里）的草原拼到一起。下一步是从草原上移除家畜，引入万头以上的野牛，拆除栅栏，恢复原生植被，为当地失去的野生动物再造回归繁荣之地。弗里兹说，草原生物多样性的特点就是群落庞大，“我们必须得放开眼界。”

In the 19 years since, the group has raised $160 million in private donations, much of it from high-tech and business entrepreneurs. It has acquired 30 properties, totaling 104,000 acres, and more than 300,000 acres of grazing leases on adjacent federal and state land. The properties are all strategically located near two federally protected areas: the 1.1 million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the 377,000-acre Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Think of the refuge and monument as the trunk of a tree, Gerrity says. In buying nearby properties, "we're trying to expand the girth of the tree," adding branches to the trunk and enhancing the movement of wildlife between river systems and grasslands. Bison are an integral part of that restoration. APR now runs more than 800 on three of its properties.

在后面的19年间，APR募集了1.6亿美元私人捐款，大部分来自高科技领域和商界的企业家。它还收购了30处地产，总计10.4万英亩，还从邻近的国有、州属土地租借了逾30万英亩草场。这些区域都策略性地聚拢在两块国家保护区周边：一块是占地110万英亩的查尔斯·M.罗素国家野生动物保护区，另一块是37.7万英亩的上密苏里河断带国家保护区。格里蒂说，假如将这两片保护区想象成大树的主干，通过收购其附近地产，“我们就是在设法扩增外围”，为大树添枝加叶，促进野生动物在各个河系和草地之间的迁徙。野牛是修复生态的必需组分。APR目前在其3块地产上照管着800多头野牛。