#217 | The Great Plains Comeback: Inside America's Largest Rewilding Project with Daniel Kinka, PhD

About this episode

Brooke Mitchell interviews Dr. Daniel Kinka about the largest rewilding project in the continental U.S. and the restoration of Montana's Great Plains.

When Lewis and Clark traveled the Missouri River in the early 1800s, they encountered bison herds stretching to the horizon, grizzly bears roaming the plains, and wildlife in numbers that seemed endless—but just 100 years later, it was nearly all gone. In this episode, Brooke sits down with Dr. Danny Kinka, Director of Rewilding at American Prairie, to explore the science behind the largest landscape rewilding project in the continental United States. American Prairie is working to restore 5,000 square miles of Montana's Great Plains by restoring keystone species like bison and creating the conditions for wildlife like beaver, prairie dogs, and eventually large carnivores to naturally return and thrive. They discuss why bison grazing is essential to grassland diversity, how prairie dogs are the unsung heroes of the plains, why American Prairie isn't ready for wolves yet but grizzly bears are a different story, the complexities of conservation in working ranch landscapes, community relations, and what you can do to support wildlife restoration wherever you live in the world. This is the science of rewilding, Montana's Great Plains comeback, and the tangible hope happening on the…

People in this episode

Host: Brooke Mitchell

Guest: Daniel Kinka

Topics covered

• rewilding
• conservation
• Great Plains
• biodiversity
• wildlife restoration
• community relations

Keywords

• rewilding
• American Prairie
• bison
• grassland diversity
• wildlife
• conservation
• Montana
• Great Plains
• ecological impact

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Prairie

Places: Montana, Great Plains

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