The Telegraph on Save the Cowboy versus APR
British newspaper The Telegraph recently published an excellent article about the grassroots opposition putting up a fight against the American Prairie Reserve. Here’s a few excerpts:
The long-term vision includes establishing a population of 10,000 bison in the hope of restoring a fully functioning ecosystem on the prairies.
However, cowboys in the area say the plans are tantamount to wiping them off the landscape, and will eradicate the cattle-breeding culture of the American west that has been passed down for over a century…
“They took a red marker on a map and drew a red line around our place and said their goal is to own this piece of property,” (rancher KC) Weingart said. “They don’t really want people here. Their long-term goal is to get rid of us and buy land.d…
Mr Weingart is one of dozens of ranchers now fighting back with a “Save the Cowboy” campaign, which has seen hundreds of “stop American Prairie Reserve” signs appearing across the landscape…
“They want us gone,” (Deanna Robbins, one of the architects of the campaign) said, adding the group wants to “wipe clean” any evidence of human habitation over the last 200 years. “That would mean removing all the homes, the fences, the outbuildings. It’s not like they’re ok with us still being here, it’s pretty much a clean sweep.”
You can read the full article online here (behind a registration wall) Cowboys dig in against conservationists in battle for soul of American prairies.