Landmark is ASC’s groundbreaking project to provide “boots on the ground” support for the American Prairie Reserve management team. Wildlife survey crews consist of skilled outdoors men and women who live and work on Montana’s northern Great Plains, collecting data that informs APR’s conservation management decisions.
Our June crew has been working their tails off and having a great time. They recently sent in words, photos, music and a video that show a window into their lives on Montana’s northern Great Plains.
From Ela Engert:
Prior to arriving on the reserve, I had a much different idea of what the landscape and work entailed. I envisioned myself in a field, hot dry and flat, pulling fenceposts from the ground all day. What I’ve experienced over the last week has been a drastic improvement over my presumptions.
Sweet clover covers a hillside on a bison count transect. (Photo by Ela Engert)
Us volunteers, being amateur scientists, are respected and trusted, participating as equals when collecting data. I find myself hiking nearly every day through rolling green and yellow hills, valleys, bluffs and dry creek beds among the wild, roaming ungulates. Wildflower and cactus in bloom, it is a place of simple beauty.
A bison stands up after rolling in the dirt. (Photo by Rachel Herring)
The crew has been playing music at night and singing around the campfire. Listen to crew member Rachel Herring play Irish fiddle music in this hauntingly beautiful track:
And finally, a Landmark birthday! Crew member Shannon Rebinski celebrated her 22nd birthday! Join the party through this video by Leah Mabee: