American Prairie Reserve purchases 14,000-acre Phillips County ranch

The American Prairie Reserve announced the purchase of the Blue Ridge ranch in southern Phillips County on Thursday. The ranch is more than 14,000 acres in size and is comprised of more than 9,600 deeded acres and 4,400 leased acres. This is the nonprofit's 29th land acquisition and brings its total deeded and leased property to more than 419,000 acres. "The Blue Ridge acquisition moves us one step closer to achieving our goal of building a refuge for people and wildlife preserved forever as part of America's heritage," said American Prairie Reserve CEO Alison Fox in a media release. According to Beth Saboe, senior external relations manager with the American Prairie Reserve, the owner of Blue Ridge ranch That expansion is not met with universal enthusiasm. Many area ranchers are skeptical. In Phillips County, where the American Prairie Reserve has most of its land holdings and 86,000 head of cattle graze the land, many neighbors remain skeptical of the ambitious and groundbreaking conservation effort to save unbroken native prairie, viewing the growing reserve as a threat to a way of life and productive agricultural ground that fuels rural economies...MORE