Wild Sky Beef – Supporting Wildlife-Friendly Ranching Practices
Created by American Prairie Reserve, Wild Sky’s mission is to support wildlife-friendly ranching through the sale of premium beef. This business model conserves wildlife and contributes to economic activity in Montana’s rural Northern Great Plains.
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Impacts
Proceeds from the sale of Wild Sky beef support conservation in the American Prairie Reserve in two ways. First, a portion of funds go directly toward advancing APR’s mission to create a 3.5 million-acre wildlife complex. Second, profit is returned directly to area ranchers who implement wildlife-friendly management protocols. Wild Sky’s protocols cover a number of areas relating to wildlife conservation—from the preservation of native prairie, to the protection of prairie dogs, to the installation of wildlife-friendly fencing. The aim is to restore the ecological conditions that are important for a large ecosystem endowed with the diversity of life the region once hosted, including humans as part of this system. Ranchers who voluntarily participate in the Wild Sky program receive a premium in exchange for practices that encourage wildlife abundance and diversity. Over time, the cattle from these ranchers will meet Wild Sky’s criteria of grass-fed and hormone and antibiotic free and can be sold directly to Wild Sky. Our eventual goal is to sell as much beef from the Reserve area as possible.