New money favors return of vast buffalo herds, crowding out ranchers that old money charity wants to preserve.
The Washington Post gives us a report by Blaine Harden about conflict in the plains of Montana. One group, The American Prairie Foundation (EIN 81-0541893 Form 990), is trying ultimately to assemble three and a half million acres of land in order to restablish buffalo on the prairie, with the vision of an American Serengeti as a tourist attraction. The story says that the group is affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund (EIN 52-1693387 Form 990).
On the other side is the Nature Conservancy (EIN 53-0242652 Form 990), which is already working in the area to preserve the cattle ranching economy in the area, which has been experiencing decades of decline and depopulation.
The buffalo group is headed up by Sean Gerrity, a former Silicon Valley management consultant who moved his family to Montana to pursue his vision. Here's a short interview with Gerrity about this career path.
Since a lot of the American Prairie Foundation funding is coming from investment bankers and Silicon Valley sources, locals express some resentment about the threat to their livelihood from wealthy outsiders, who are using a nonprofit organization to change the land use patterns of the West.
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