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Turner's 2-Million-Acre Wildlife Estate, $1B UN Gift Shapes Legacy

5/8/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Ted Turner’s two-million-acre land portfolio, managed for wildlife restoration, remains a cornerstone of his environmental legacy.
He owned roughly 2 million acres across six states, including large ranches in New Mexico, Montana and Kansas, where he implemented bison and wildlife restoration programs.
He donated $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997, establishing the Turner Foundation to fund conservation and nuclear-risk initiatives.

History

Historical Context

Facing a near-extinction of roughly 1,000 bison recorded in an 1889 survey, the American Bison Society was founded in 1905 by the New York Zoological Society with Theodore Roosevelt as honorary president. The group’s 1907 reintroduction to Wichita Mountains and its $10,000 fundraising for the 1908 National Bison Range established public herds, a model that guides today’s private-land conservation partnerships.

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Story summary

Ted Turner’s two-million-acre land portfolio, managed for wildlife restoration, remains a cornerstone of his environmental legacy.
He owned roughly 2 million acres across six states, including large ranches in New Mexico, Montana and Kansas, where he implemented bison and wildlife restoration programs.
He donated $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997, establishing the Turner Foundation to fund conservation and nuclear-risk initiatives.

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