New Directions for the Prairie Economy: Connecting Conservation and Rural Development in the Northern Great Plains

WWF Northern Great Plains’ http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/ngp/index.html Manager of Conservation Economics Dawn Montanye and other socioeconomic experts spent the last year analyzing economic, demographic and land use trends in the region and assessing wildlife conservation solutions.

New Directions for the Prairie Economy: Connecting Conservation and Rural Development in the Northern Great Plains http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/ngp/WWFBinaryitem14039.pdf was published in September and sent to over 300 stakeholders. The authors provide an examination of serious problems facing the Northern Great Plains of the United States’ rural communities and native prairies, identifying emerging opportunities from natural amenities and ecosystem services and products for addressing the problems.

These opportunities offer a proposed common ground for rural development and prairie conservation to build a new, more sustainable prairie economy together.

For more information, please contact: Dawn Montanye, Manager of Conservation Economics, Northern Great Plains, WWF-US; phone: 406-585-5336 or email Dawn at [email protected].