Nature reserve buys ranch, grows to more than 700 sq miles

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A privately-owned nature reserve that’s trying to build a Connecticut-sized park where bison and other wildlife can freely roam on the U.S. Northern Plains says it is purchasing a 50-square mile ranch. The deal for the 73 Ranch in Central Montana along the Musselshell River expands the size of the American Prairie Reserve to more than 700 square miles. The purchase price was not disclosed, the Billings Gazette reported. Since 2001, the Bozeman-based American Prairie Reserve has been trying to stitching together millions of acres of contiguous public and private land to create a vast wildlife preserve.