國家地理:牧野分歧(3)

But here on the plains' western edge, where the climate is unforgiving and the boom-and-bust farming economy is equally remorseless, swaths of prairie remain largely unbroken. In 2000 a group of conservationists identified this region as critical for preserving grassland biodiversity. In 2001 one member of that group, a spare, soft-spoken biologist named Curt Freese, teamed up with a Montana native named Sean Gerrity to form the American Prairie Reserve, or APR. Gerrity, a kinetic former Silicon Valley consultant with an unruly mop of white hair, says the idea was to "move fast and be nimble," in the manner of a high-tech start-up. The group would use private money to patch together 3.2 million acres, or 5,000 square miles, of private and public grassland along the Missouri River, acquiring ranches from "willing sellers" at market prices. It would remove the cattle that grazed the land, stock it with 10,000 or more bison, tear out interior fences, restore native vegetation, and create the conditions in which the region's lost wildlife could return and thrive. Grassland biodiversity requires abundance, Freese says. "You've got to think big."

但我們此刻所在的草原西緣氣候酷劣，大起大落的農(nóng)業(yè)經(jīng)濟同樣無情，因而仍有成片的草地被大致保全。2000年，一群保育工作者將這里定為保護草地多樣性的關(guān)鍵地區(qū)；2001年，其中一名生物學家?guī)鞝柼亍じダ锲澟c蒙大拿本地居民肖恩·格里蒂共同創(chuàng)建了美國大草原保護組織（簡稱APR）。總閑不住的格里蒂以前在硅谷當過顧問，一頭掃帚般的亂白發(fā)，聲稱該組織的行動主旨與高科技創(chuàng)業(yè)一樣要“快速行動，靈活處理”。APR計劃依靠私募資金，在密蘇里河沿岸從愿意出售者手中以市場價買下他們的牧場，把該地區(qū)公有和私有的320萬英畝（5000平方英里）的草原拼到一起。下一步是從草原上移除家畜，引入萬頭以上的野牛，拆除柵欄，恢復原生植被，為當?shù)厥サ囊吧鷦游镌僭旎貧w繁榮之地。弗里茲說，草原生物多樣性的特點就是群落龐大，“我們必須得放開眼界。”

In the 19 years since, the group has raised $160 million in private donations, much of it from high-tech and business entrepreneurs. It has acquired 30 properties, totaling 104,000 acres, and more than 300,000 acres of grazing leases on adjacent federal and state land. The properties are all strategically located near two federally protected areas: the 1.1 million-acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the 377,000-acre Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Think of the refuge and monument as the trunk of a tree, Gerrity says. In buying nearby properties, "we're trying to expand the girth of the tree," adding branches to the trunk and enhancing the movement of wildlife between river systems and grasslands. Bison are an integral part of that restoration. APR now runs more than 800 on three of its properties.

在后面的19年間，APR募集了1.6億美元私人捐款，大部分來自高科技領(lǐng)域和商界的企業(yè)家。它還收購了30處地產(chǎn)，總計10.4萬英畝，還從鄰近的國有、州屬土地租借了逾30萬英畝草場。這些區(qū)域都策略性地聚攏在兩塊國家保護區(qū)周邊：一塊是占地110萬英畝的查爾斯·M.羅素國家野生動物保護區(qū)，另一塊是37.7萬英畝的上密蘇里河斷帶國家保護區(qū)。格里蒂說，假如將這兩片保護區(qū)想象成大樹的主干，通過收購其附近地產(chǎn)，“我們就是在設(shè)法擴增外圍”，為大樹添枝加葉，促進野生動物在各個河系和草地之間的遷徙。野牛是修復生態(tài)的必需組分。APR目前在其3塊地產(chǎn)上照管著800多頭野牛。