Conserving America's Wild Lands

Ted Turner was for many years the largest private property owner in America, and known most notably for his establishment of bison herds on several large ranches in five western states. His holdings in the United States and the Patagonia region of Argentina represent refuges of biodiversity. This is a never-before-seen glimpse into Ted Turner s two million acres, a volume of land equal to the size of Yellowstone National Park. The Turner family land holdings are spread across nearly two dozen properties, some that climb to snow-covered mountains in the Northern Rockies, others where wild desert sheep dwell and dodge stalking cougars, and still others lapped by ocean tides and offering nesting places for imperilled sea turtles crawling ashore after surviving incredible journeys. In between that dramatic topographical range are expanses of American prairie and glacial valleys where Turner has undertaken his unprecedented mission to reconnect iconic native bison with the landscapes where they once flourished. With his own private bison herd numbering around 50,000, the largest in the world, Turner has demonstrated that what is ecologically good for bison enhances the health of soil, grasses, and habitat sustaining hundreds of other native species. Rhett Turner explores his father s devotion to leaving nature in better shape than he found it by taking readers to the diverse world of Turner properties. By doing so, he illustrates how monumental conservation can be brought to scale on private land in ways that also deliver dividends for public land, as well as wildlife recovery tying future generations to the promise of America s greatest legacy our wild lands. With a foreword by Jimmy Carter, this book is an inspiring call to action to reflect on how we all can strive to leave our land a little better a little wilder than how we found it.