 In Montana, the shortgrass prairie lies under the
"Big Sky" and stretches from the Rocky Mountain Front eastward to the Dakotas.
These vast rolling high plains grasslands are broken by isolated mountain ranges such as
the Little Rocky and the Bear’s Paw Mountains and drained by large rivers, including
the mighty Missouri and Milk. Another dominant feature, the Missouri Breaks, forms the
southern boundary of the north-central Montana plains and runs west to east along the
Missouri River corridor. North of the Milk River and eastward to the state line, along
what is now called the "Hi-Line", the land has relatively high densities of
depressional wetlands or "prairie potholes." These grassland-wetland complexes
are especially important to migratory wetland birds both during the summer reproductive
season and annual migrations. Prior to settlement, this "sea of grass" was a
land of bison, pronghorn, elk, deer, grizzlies, wolves, swift fox, prairie dogs, and
black-footed ferrets along with a host of grassland birds. Receiving less than 13 inches
of precipitation annually, the land was once subject to raging fires and seasonal grazing
by nomadic herds of ungulates. Today the land is still impacted by periodic drought and
fierce blizzards. Livestock
ranching and farming now dominate the prairie, but the face of eastern Montana seems
ever-changing. Small farms and ranches have disappeared, and the human population is
declining. Sadly, some rural communities have begun to wither and die. Economists and
civic leaders speak passionately of the need for long-term sustainability and resource
stewardship in this fragile landscape.
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