Northern Great Plains Program

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Northern Great Plains program is designed to conserve mixed grass prairie and associated wildlife populations of the northern prairie. 

The vast grasslands of the Northern Great Plains support a unique assemblage of wildlife adapted to the wide open spaces. Thanks to generations of land stewardship by ranchers, tribes and public agencies, much of the Northern Great Plains remains as native grassland that is productive for people and wildlife.

However, this unparalleled resource is facing threats including conversion to cropland, energy development, invasive species, and a lack of capacity to manage the grasslands of this vast region. NFWF’s Northern Great Plains program works with willing private landowners and local partners to address these challenges by conserving and restoring native prairie and wildlife while also enhancing local ranching and tribal communities.

Working through partnerships, NFWF’s goal is to directly maintain or improve 1 million acres of interconnected, native grasslands in focal areas within the Northern Great Plains to sustain healthy populations of grassland-obligate species while fostering sustainable livelihoods and preserving cultural identities.

Grants will be made to support conservation projects in four focal areas: Dakota Grasslands, Missouri-Milk River Grasslands, Powder River-Thunder Basin Grasslands and Nebraska Sandhills Grasslands.