Conservation & Partnerships
![RWR](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2024/03/9233559/rwr_original.png) MSGA’s monthly Ranch Weather Radar is an exclusive resource for MSGA members to leverage short-term weather updates in your operation and production planning. These updates are produced specifically for Montana’s livestock producers, allowing you to stay informed on how upcoming weather events could impact your operation.
![Trust In Food](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2024/02/9070260/trustinfood_original.png) USDA has announced $3 billion in funding for over 140 different Climate-Smart Commodities projects. Incentive payments are available for producers looking to undertake a variety of different conservation practices.
Mountain West Grazing Connection Has a New Home!
After several months of being homeless (offline), the platform's founders, Montana State University and NCAT, approached WSE to take the reins. We agreed the site was too important to let go and are now the owners of this FREE resource. The Mountain West Grazing Connection is a platform for landowners to advertise leasing opportunities or for livestock owners to post leasing wants in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. After some minor updates, we can proudly say the site is up and running again - just in time for the summer grazing season! Nothing has changed for the most part. It is still just as easy to create a free listing, edit, and delete all from your account.
"Rural Resilience" Webinar Series
Growing our ranching and rural community’s financial, ecological, and social resilience with experienced, hand-selected speakers, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance “Rural Resilience” webinar series is back for a fourth year!
While final details are still being ironed out, here’s a look a the dates and topics:
- Thursday, April 25 – Beef Direct Marketing w/ Montana RancHERS Beef Co.
Each FREE webinar will last 90 minutes with plenty of time for interaction.
Rancher Kevin Koss started noticing thousands of small trees, 6 inches to 6 feet, encroaching on his grasslands that he uses for grazing livestock. Kevin is now working with the local NRCS office and the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance to help maintain and recover the grasslands he needs for his ranch.
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Agency Updates
Funding Available Now!
Multiple Grants Opportunities
DNRC administers a wide range of grants and loans for Montana, assisting cities and towns, conservation districts, private landowners, and other groups in managing natural resource issues at the local level.
![FarmBureau](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2024/03/9233190/capture_original.png) Farm Bureau - Partners in Sustainability
At Farm Bureau, we are proud of agriculture’s sustainability story, and we believe the future of agriculture is bright as we work together to further climate-smart solutions that protect our resources, farms and communities.
Taxes for Farmers and Ranchers
![USDOILogo](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/12/8726816/usdoilogo_original.png) Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Events in Montana
Would you like to give a good home to a wild horse or burro?
BLM extends sequestration project comment period to April 17
The Bureau of Land Management has extended the public comment period on the environmental assessment for the Denbury Carbon Solutions, LLC proposal to construct and operate a CO2 sequestration project in southeastern Montana.
The 30-day comment period extension ends April 17, 2024.
![NRCS](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/08/8093291/nrcs_original.png) USDA Seeks Partnerships to Expand Conservation on Grazing Lands
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing up to $22 million in partnerships that expand access to conservation technical assistance for livestock producers and increase the use of conservation practices on grazing lands. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting proposals through its Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative until Sunday, May 26, 2024.
What's Available in MY County?
Current local financial assistance opportunities in Montana, listed by county. In addition to the local opportunities, producers may also apply for statewide and national programs.
![DOI BLM](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2021/12/5323320/doi-blm_original.png) BLM urged to incorporate latest science in new sage grouse plans
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) responded to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) release of the updated greater sage ground management plans. These plans will shape public land use across 10 different states and tens of millions of Western acres. After completing revisions to the plans in 2015 and again in 2019, the agency is currently amending 77 separate land use plans across the West and could potentially designate millions of acres as new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs).
Greater Sage-grouse Land Use Plan Amendments
The BLM is amending specific greater sage-grouse goals, objectives and management from previous planning efforts in 77 resource management plans across ten western states (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming). These changes are to enhance greater sage-grouse conservation through management of sagebrush habitats on BLM-managed lands.
![MSULogo](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/07/7904494/msu_original.png) Kill weeds, not trees
Herbicide selectivity informs applicators of both the spectrum of weed control and the species it can be safely applied to. Applicators should select herbicides that are effective on target weed species and safe on desired species. However, there is often a fine line between herbicide efficacy and off-target injury to desired plants such as trees.
MSU Extension to co-host Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum April 16-17
Montana State University Extension and the Montana Feed Association will co-host the annual Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 16 and 17, at the Best Western Plus GranTree Inn in Bozeman, 1325 N. Seventh Ave.
![FWP Logo](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2021/07/4707053/fwp-logo_original.jpg) FWP reminder: Be bear aware when recreating outdoors
As spring weather approaches, we’re all anxious to head outdoors, and bears are leaving their winter dens. This time of year, bears are waking up from hibernation and are pretty hungry. So, it’s best for you, and for the bears, not to leave out anything that will attract their appetite or their curiosity.
FWP announces CRP Add-on Lease enrollment period
Application deadline is April 19
Agricultural producers with land enrolled in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are invited to apply for enrollment in Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ CRP Add-on Lease option. This option is designed to benefit producers while also providing habitat for upland game birds and other wildlife and also giving game bird hunters more places to hunt.
Future Fisheries Improvement Program
Deadline is May 15
Landowners, watershed groups and others have until May 15 to apply for summer Future Fisheries Improvement Program (FFIP) grants.
The goal of Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ FFIP is to restore rivers, streams and lakes to improve Montana’s wild fish habitat. Entities can receive funding for qualifying projects that benefit Montana's wild fish. Each project is assessed by an independent review panel and final funding decisions are made by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Grizzly Bear Euthanized Due to Cattle Depredation in Teton County
A grizzly bear was euthanized Monday after a cattle depredation on private land along the Rocky Mountain Front. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks had previously captured and radio collared the young adult male bear weighing 375 pounds near Simms earlier this month, and it was relocated at that time by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Considering this, and in consultation with the USFWS, the bear was euthanized by U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services on March 25.
![mda](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/07/7910394/mda_original.png) Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council Recruits for Open Positions
The Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is currently recruiting for open positions on its Noxious Weed Management Advisory Council (NWMAC). The following council terms expire June 30, 2024:
- Recreationist / Wildlife Group Representative
- Noxious Weed Free Materials Representative
- Montana Weed Control Association Representative
- Eastern County Weed District Representative
- At-Large Member
![USDA Logo Header](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/11/8594585/usdalogoheader_original.png) USDA finalizes Product of USA rule
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced USDA has finalized a rule he says will align voluntary “Product of USA” labeling claims with consumers’ understanding of the term. The news came during the Secretary’s address at the National Farmers Union annual convention in Phoenix.
![USDA FSA Logo](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/fancy_images/MTDNRC/2023/06/7836261/fsa_original.png) USDA Announces March 2024 Lending Rates for Agricultural Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for March 2024, which are effective March 1, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
Podcast Corner
AoR 126: Renewable Energy, Wildlife, & Grazing with Jeff Tayer, Ryan Stingley, & Jennifer Galbraith
Is it possible to generate renewable energy, beef, and wildlife habitat in the same space? Long-time collaborators Puget Sound Energy, WSU Extension, Stingley Ranches, and Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife have proven the reality of this unlikely combination for more than 15 years on sagebrush ecosystems in the Intermountain West.
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Research Center
To make the 406 Rangelands newsletter more reader friendly, the "Research Center" section has been permanently moved to the Rangeland Resources Program website. You can access it here.
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