Before there were fences and smokestacks and endless roads, the Great Plains existed alone and intact.Indigenous cultures on the landscape were intimately connected with the wildlife and the great wide open. A million square miles of this landscape went throughout centuries with only the sounds of nature and footsteps echoing throughout. Today, scores of wildlife habitat are cut by roads, agricultural fields, tracks and strip malls and suburbia. We can all think of a field or landscape lost to one of these features.
But, there is still wild left out there, and the wildlife we are committed to protecting needs it. One of these last remaining places is American Prairie Reserve (APR). Located in north-central Montana, the nonprofit organization is committed to creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States. It’s already home to bison, and our efforts to restore a keystone species—the black-tailed prairie dog— are crucial to bringing back the most endangered mammal in North America: the black-footed ferret. Each of these species need acres upon acres and miles of habitat to thrive again.
Prairie dogs are associated with more than 117 other species, many of whom depend on them for prey and their burrows for shelter. In honor of the large landscapes required to support the prairie dog ecosystem, the PDC will transect one of the last large connected landscapes in the Great Plains. The good side of the much maligned species’ story needs to be told too.
In an attempt to lift up the prairie dog while there’s still time to save what’s left (prairie dogs have declined by 95%!), we will share our travel update from the field each day with our audience and dig into the prairie dog’s true story. The daily updates will be delivered via a series of compelling new photographs, video, audio, and multimedia tied to our personal journey across the Transect.
We chose APR because this spot on the map is a key conservation area for wildlife and contributes to large landscape species recovery. Our all-women team will travel by foot, canoe, and bike, and transect these very lands we restore and protect.
The HSUS Prairie Dog Coalition (HSUS PDC) and APR will be teaming up to make this 100 mile, 7 – 10-day trek to attempt to fund the expansion of critical black-footed ferret habitat in this key conservation area. From landscape planning to boots on the ground, the PDC and Defenders of Wildlife are creating stepping-stones of habitat to connect with the adjacent Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Our goal is to one day create a complex of prairie dog colonies large enough to support the myriad associated species that need prairie dogs and to reintroduce the black-footed ferret in conflict-free conservation areas.
Just as bison need miles of land to roam and ferrets need miles of prairie dog colonies to survive, our teams need to gel to create the best outcomes for wildlife. Coined the Transect, the project brings together a team of women from diverse backgrounds traveling with our own self-made power across one of the last remaining big, wild landscapes. Join us.
The Need: We are looking for several $1,000, $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000 sponsorships or grants to meet the project’s financial need of $23,000. Other amounts are welcome. All contributions are tax deductible to a 501C3 non-profit organization. Our goal is to raise enough money in Transect sponsorships to cover the costs of implementing our prairie dog restoration activities in 2019. Travel costs are already covered. Most of our equipment is already on hand.
Who: PDC Team of 4 – 5
What: Funds raised will go directly to on-the-ground activities that typically include creating native wildlife habitat via artificial burrow installation, native vegetation restoration, and wildlife translocation.
Where: American Prairie Reserve (APR) – north-central Montana on the Missouri River. APR is creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States.
When: June 23-July 2, 2019
TRANSECT SPONSOR BENEFITS
WEBPAGE
· Recognition and logo placement on project page
· Daily blog update adjacent to partner images
BRANDING
· Logo patches to be sewn onto gear and
· Photographed daily along the Transect, highlighting partner brands and included in posts
ADVERTISING
· All Animals magazine (circ 480K) will run a photo story and thank you to sponsors
EMAIL
· Transect participants will send regular updates from the field to personal and professional lists totaling approximately 2,500 people
SOCIAL MEDIA
· Posts on the HSUS, PDC and Women in Conservation pages and HSUS Wildlife pages on Instagram and Facebook
Contact us at [email redacted] for more information! 
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