High West American Prairie

High West Prairie Reserve

High West Distillery is passionate about the American West’s culture, heritage, and natural beauty and wants to raise awareness of one of the most fantastic projects of our time: the American Prairie Reserve in northeastern Montana. We tip our hats to this amazing effort to assemble the largest wildlife reserve in the lower 48 states. When stepping onto the plains of American Prairie Reserve, it is not difficult to imagine the landscape as Lewis and Clark and Native Americans saw it, with thundering herds of bison, racing bands of pronghorn antelope and prairie dog towns dotting the horizon. When the Reserve is complete, it will be approximately 5,000 square miles, or roughly the size of Connecticut.

On the front label: the stunning greater sage grouse is just one of the many beautiful species that call the American prairie home. Habitat destruction has led to steep declines in sage grouse populations across the West and the bird is now a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection.  However, these beautiful birds still thrive on the Reserve. Visit in early spring to see male sage grouse vying for mates as they “dance” on the breeding ground, called a lek.