In early 2001, I met and began working with Dr. Curt Freese of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and others to determine a viable approach to creating a multi-million-acre prairie-based wildlife reserve. I originally saw my role simply as an advisor to the effort, but as the idea took shape over the course of that year, I began to recognize the unique chance to make a significant contribution to global conservation. In early 2002 I became American Prairie’s President. 

That first year I began assembling, from scratch, a Montana-based startup organization geared towards converting a spectacularly ambitious conservation idea into measurable, on-the-ground progress. Over the next seventeen years the organization grew to 35 staff and 18 board trustees, raised more than $100 million in private funding, and acquired twenty-six properties totaling 385,000 private and leased acres. We reintroduced bison to the landscape after a 100-year absence and worked to make our expanding land base open to the public.  We openned two public campgrounds: Buffalo Camp at Sun Prairie and sixty miles to the west, Antelope Creek Campground at Mars Vista. We also brought online a hut system, the Danny, Joey and Gigi Enrico Science and Education Center and the high-end Kestrel Camp.

In 2010 after being introduced to the top leadership of the National Geographic Society, (NGS) I was named a National Geographic Fellow. The ensuing long-term relationship between our two organizations resulted in American Prairie being included in NGS’S six most-likely to succeed large-scale conservation efforts in the world as chronicled in their Last Wild Places initiative.

In 2014 a chance meeting with Warren Johnson, one of Smithsonian’s top conservation biologists, led to a long-term partnership between our organizations, culminating in The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute now leading American Prairie Reserve’s core science projects and long range science strategy.

In 2019, I passed the CEO role to my long-time colleague, Alison Fox, who today leads American Prairie’s strong and steady progress towards its ultimate vision. Ali and her 55-person team have elevated the productivity, financial strength, habitat growth and positive public reputation of American Prairie well beyond what it was when I transitioned out of my role six years ago. 

With support from National Geographic, I’ve written a book, The Second Best Time is Now---due out in 2025. It is about starting and methodically building out the American Prairie project through its quite challenging early years. I hope our story rekindles reader’s beliefs that it is still possible to dream big, and that with persistence and ingenuity you can still get big things done in this often contentious world.  

While at American Prairie my team and I constantly looked around the world for examples of successful conservation efforts who’s approach and best practices might in some way improve our own effectiveness and performance in Montana.  After I left my role as President, I had time to reflect on all the extraordinary people I’d encountered around the world during my tenor. The Answers Are Out There podcast seeks to illuminate these entrepreneurs and the amazing work that they do. I hope their stories help generate some optimism about the future at a time when so much of our news is designed to do the opposite. I also hope that, like my book, this podcast might encourage some listeners to consider pursuing something new for themselves; something that is at once meaningful and important to them, and which could make a positive impact on the world.