Restoring America's Prairie

Field in Focus is a video series that brings you into the field with Smithsonian scientists working to save species around the globe.

With an ecosystem that supports an abundance of wildlife, from mighty bison to tiny insects, the prairie is one of North America's greatest treasures. But decades of alterations have drastically changed this landscape and impacted the plants and animals that call it home.

Today, Smithsonian scientists are collaborating with the American Prairie in Montana to help understand, restore and preserve this wild landscape. Follow ecologists into the field as they attempt to answer big conservation questions in an even bigger place: the American prairie.

Updates From the Field

American bison grazing on the prairie. — Landmark Study Demonstrates Cultural, Ecological and Economic Benefits of Tribal Bison Restoration
Need for Long-Term Research To Develop Adaptive Management Schemes

*Jan. 31, 2022*

A study published today in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution found that widespread restoration of bison to Tribal lands throughout the Northern Great Plains can help restore the prairie ecosystem while improving the long-running issue of food insecurity and food sovereignty for Native Nations and may help to mitigate adverse impacts to traditional agricultural systems due to climate change.

Read More.

Tribes Successful with Swift Fox Reintroduction Program at Fort Belknap

The Fort Belknap Indian Community commemorated three years of its swift fox recovery program with the release of three swift foxes on Tribal lands, bringing the total to 103 recovered back to these prairie grasslands.
Landmark Study Demonstrates Cultural, Ecological and Economic Benefits of Tribal Bison Restoration

A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution found that widespread restoration of bison to Tribal lands throughout the Northern Great Plains can help restore the prairie ecosystem while improving the long-running issue of food insecurity and food sovereignty for Native Nations and may help to mitigate adverse impacts to traditional agricultural systems due to climate change.
A Rare Look Inside the Nests of Declining Prairie Songbirds

Each spring, the Northern Great Plains erupts with life as migratory birds return to build nests and raise their young. Smithsonian researchers are studying these grassland birds that nets in areas inhabited by prairie dogs.
How I Study Elusive Prairie Bobcats

Find out how Smithsonian researchers are using camera traps to study bobcats on the Northern Great Plains.
Learning About Swift Foxes from What They Leave Behind

Sometimes, science stinks — literally! In Montana, researchers are setting up “scat traps" to attract swift foxes, so they can learn from the droppings the foxes leave behind.
44-hour Flights: Tracking Curlews Across North America

Modern technology is helping unravel the mystery of how migratory birds achieve their amazing flights. Researchers are already finding that many birds fly farther, faster and higher than they thought.
Public Invited To Name Black-Footed Ferret Kits at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute invites the public to help name three black-footed ferret kits—one female and two males—born May 19 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. Voting for the names starts Tuesday, July 20, at 10 a.m. through Sunday, July 25, across three platforms.
How Ecologists are Using Sound to Detect an Elusive Bird

Cuckoos are extremely secretive birds and difficult to spot. Researchers are developing a tool, using remote sound recorders and artificial intelligence, to help detect them.
How Tribes and Conservation Partners are Bringing Swift Foxes Back to Their Historic Range

In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago. Learn more in this update from landscape ecologist Hila Shamon.
I Spent the Summer Studying a Herd of Bison, And Here’s What I Learned

Spending your days with a herd of bison is an idyllic way to pass a summer. I would know, because most of my days from May to August were spent observing the behaviors of a herd of about 300 bison in Montana.
Tribes Begin Five-Year Swift Fox Reintroduction at Fort Belknap

After an absence of more than 50 years, the swift fox has returned to the grasslands of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana.
Bison and Lobsters: Neighbors Separated by 75 Million Years

Ecologist Andy Boyce discovered a lobster fossil near his field site in Montana, evidence that long ago this area of the Northern Great Plains was once the floor of a shallow sea.
Smithsonian’s National Zoo Welcomes Two New Bison

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has welcomed “Lucy” and “Gally,” two juvenile female American bison.
Ecologists Dig Prairie Dogs, And You Should Too

At their field site in north-central Montana, ecologist Andy Boyce and intern Andrew Dreelin are learning more about how black-tailed prairie dogs change the landscape and support the many species that call the prairie home.
Working Toward Swift Fox Reintroduction

Landscape ecologist Hila Shamon lives and works in Montana, where she studies the prairie and its wildlife. Over the last year and a half, she has been working with Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and other collaborators to develop a swift fox reintroduction program.
Fantastic Beasts of the Great Plains

Smithsonian ecologists worked with American Prairie Reserve staff to fit bison with GPS ear tags. Their movement study will help researchers understand how bison move and use the landscape at the Reserve in Montana.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Tracking the Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed curlew are shorebirds that spend their summers breeding in the grasslands of Montana. Smithsonian ecologists are equipping them with GPS trackers to learn more about their movements.
Studying Animals in Extreme Landscapes

How can you begin to study something as vast and diverse as the American prairie? Find out in the latest blog from landscape ecologist Hila Shamon who is stationed at American Prairie Reserve in Montana.
The Birds Are Back in Town

All seasons on the prairie are special. But spring is just a little more special than the rest, as every day birds return for summer breeding season.
Tracking Bison Across the Grasslands of Montana

Landscape ecologist Hila Shamon spent the first two weeks of April working with American Prairie Reserve to place GPS collars on plains bison.
Welcome to the American Prairie Reserve

Conservation ecologist Andy Boyce lives on the American Prairie Reserve in Phillips County, Montana. It's rugged, it's wild and it's one of the only places left on Earth where scientists have the chance to preserve a complete prairie ecosystem.
Where the Bison Roam

Ecologist Bill McShea shares how the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s collaboration with American Prairie Reserve will help scientists better understand how changes to the grasslands affect the wildlife that call it home.

Featured Videos

An overview of the Great Plains Science program as of 2023.

Every hour, solar-powered GPS ear tags tell SCBI scientists where bison on the American Prairie Reserve in Montana roam.

Using GPS collars, ecologists are tracking bison as they move across the grasslands of Montana.

Camera traps help ecologists learn more about the animals living on the prairie.

Ecologists track long-billed curlews with solar-powered, GPS transmitters.

Meet the Team

Landscape ecologist Hila Shamoon in the field at the American Prairie Reserve in Montana — Hila Shamon, Landscape Ecologist
Hila Shamon's focus is on understanding the prairie's ecosystem engineers — the plants and animals that help shape this unique habitat. Her current study revolves around two grassland species: American bison and black-tailed prairie dogs. She uses camera traps, audio recordings, GPS tags and other technology to collect data.

Wildlife ecologist William McShea in the field at the American Prairie Reserve in Montana — Bill McShea, Wildlife Ecologist
Bill McShea is passionate about wild animals in wild places. His work has taken him around the world, where he has seen firsthand that conservation science is most effective when combined with compassion for the people living with wildlife. His current focus is helping to inform the management of wildlife and forests.

A head shot of ecologist Andy Boyce in the field at the American Prairie Reserve in Montana — Andy Boyce, Conservation Ecologist
Andy Boyce is interested in just about every aspect of how birds live, where they are found and how evolution shapes the way they reproduce and care for their young. His fascination with birds and biology began in the tropical forests of Venezuela and Borneo, but these days he applies them to a system closer to home — the short-grass prairie and sagebrush steppe of Eastern Montana.

Camera Trap Photo Gallery

Studying wild animals across vast expanses of land is no easy task. Ecologists often employ technology, such as camera traps, to help. These motion-sensitive cameras snap a picture whenever they detect movement, giving researchers extra eyes in the wild.

The camera traps set up around the study site in Montana are deployed 24/7, which allows researchers to gather data without disturbing animals and to collect samples even when they are not in the field. The photos they collect will help build a clearer picture of the ecosystem — what animals are present and when, how species interact, which habitats they prefer and whether their land use changes with the seasons.