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 The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s Rangeland Resources Program (RRP) promotes and advocates for healthy, sustainable rangelands that supports people, wildlife, recreation, clean water, and the natural scenic beauty of Montana.
News
Registration is OPEN!
Register today for the Riparian Grazing Management Workshop on July 10, 2024, in Big Timber, MT. This educational event will feature Guest Speaker Nate Haygood (NRCS-Bozeman) and tour Ranching for Rivers off-stream watering project on the Stenberg Ranch. This event is a collaborative effort between the Rangeland Resources Program and the Montana Association of Conservation Districts.
Cost of registration is $25 per person and includes the tour, presentations, and lunch. Transportation from Big Timber to the tour site is also provided.
Event registration ends 7/3/2024
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Working Lands Internship Program
Intern Update - Lydia Burns
I applied to the Working Lands Internship Program because as an Environmental Science major, I wanted to better understand the ways that ranchers interact with the land. Before beginning the program, I knew that ranchers genuinely cared for the land but was under the impression that finances usually influenced their decisions more than their dedication to the environment did. I could not have been more wrong. My experience so far has shown me the lengths that ranchers and farmers are willing to go to in order to contribute to the land that they care so deeply about. I have learned about the immense amount of effort ranchers put into using intensive grazing methods that mimic bison herds moving across North America. Each of the ranchers I have worked with this summer utilize numerous other strategies to improve the landscape alongside intensive grazing, including the use of chickens to promote soil health, use of a nearby rancher’s sheep to control the spread of invasives, and the use of homemade compost tea to benefit garden soil, among many others. I have realized that although finances can be a limiting factor, they do not stop ranchers and farmers from working to protect the land they work on. My understanding of ranchers as land stewards has grown vastly thanks to the people I have been working and staying with this summer, and I am excited for it to continue to expand. I hope to use this knowledge in a career that enables me to work with ranchers on conservation projects that benefit them as well as the environment. I want to thank the ranches and ranchers who have hosted me and will host me, including Compass Cattle, the Sather family, the Halverson family, Flying D, and the French family, as they have taught and will teach me so much about both ranching and the environment.
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2024 Farm Bill Receives Wide Praise from Industry & Stakeholders
“We are very pleased with the Farm Bill framework released by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson. Since 2023, Chairman Thompson has gone to great lengths to meet with America’s cattle producers in every region of the country and craft a Farm Bill that supports their unique needs. We are especially pleased by the Chairman’s focus on voluntary conservation programs that are increasingly popular with cattle producers, animal health provisions that protect the U.S. cattle herd, and investments in food security that support our broader national security,” said Ethan Lane, Vice President of Government Affairs, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
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Devastating loss of global rangelands threatening pastoralist communities
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has said that the world has degraded up to 50% of the global rangelands.
All over the world, traditional herders rely on the earth’s open space to support ancient ways of life. They are a cultural bedrock for over half a billion people in more than 100 countries. Many of these are poor and marginalised.
Unfortunately, the plains, tundra, and savanna that these herders live on are in much greater danger than previously suspected. Notably, a major new report found that capitalist societies and the climate crisis has degraded half of these environments.
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Cost of Summer Cookout Reaches Record High
Families celebrating the 4th of July holiday will continue to find stubbornly high prices at the grocery store. An Independence Day cookout will cost $71.22 for 10 guests this year, based on the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation annual marketbasket survey.
The grocery bill is up 5% from 2023, and almost 30% from just five years ago. A $7.12 per-person cost represents a record high since AFBF began the survey in 2013. The cookout favorites include cheeseburgers, chicken breasts, pork chops, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, among other products.
The Cowboy Math of Mature Cow Size and Calf Revenue Generated
The U.S. cow herd has been steadily increasing in mature weight for several decades. Excess mature weight of cows has several downsides. The focus of this article is its impact on profitability in commercial cow-calf operations.
For each 100 head of 1,000-pound cows you could run in your cow-calf operation, the same forage base (and feed input cost) would sustain 71 head of 1,400-pound cows.
For each 100-pound increase in mature weight, cows average approximately 10 more pounds of calf weaning weight produced.
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  If you missed this year's Montana Range Tour you missed a good one; the weather was perfect, and the attendance set records. Gabe Brown along with Kurt and PJ Myllymacki and guest speakers Marnie Thompson (NRCS) and Kate Vogel (North40 Ag) did a fantastic job.
This years' tour took place outside of Stanford, MT on June 20; the morning started out with a great breakfast cooked by the Stanford Scramblers 4H Club and then all 160 participants sat down for an introduction from PJ Myllymaki and AgWest, afterwards Gabe Brown took the stage. The rest of the day consisted of field tours of the Myllymacki's cover crops, fields, electric fencing, and their grazing and pasture improvements. Kurt and PJ hosted a great event with an opportunity to network, share ideas, look at equipment and see conservation practices firsthand. A special thanks to all of sponsors and partners who make this event happen.
We hope you're able to join us next June for what I promise will be another amazingly fantastic Montana Range Tour; it'll will be well worth the investment to attend!
~Stacey Barta, State Coordinator for Rangelands
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Conservation & Partnerships
 Submit Comments on Grouse Stewardship Grant Draft Environmental Assessments
The Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program is soliciting public comment on proposed uses of the Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Stewardship Fund to benefit sage grouse and conserve important sage grouse habitats. MSGOT requests public comment on a draft environmental assessment for three conservation easement projects.
MSGA Shares Statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision on Chevron Deference
The U.S. Supreme Court took a critical step in limiting federal administrative overreach across the country. The Court ruled to overturn much of the precedent setting case, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council of 1984, a long-standing precedent that gives agencies broad leeway when underlying statutes are vague or silent on topics.
Apps to Use (or not) on Your Ranch
While apps are available to help calculate grazing days in a pasture, map out fence and water lines, share pasture information with team members, and more, like many monitoring technologies, apps can’t replace the value of hands-on range management – a skill learned by experience literally “in the field.”
 Provide Montana's farmers and ranchers with resources, trainings, and support to increase workplace safety within Montana's agriculture industry.
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.
 Farm Bureau Urges Prompt Passage of Bill to Restore St. Mary's Canal
The Montana Farm Bureau has submitted a letter to U.S. House of Representatives leadership urging them to take up the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Settlement Act of 2024 (S.1987).
“The Milk River Project in north central Montana is aptly referred to as the “Lifeline of the Highline” because it provides water to over 120,000 acres of productive farmland, several towns, and two tribes,” said MFBF President Cyndi Johnson in her letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “Just over one week ago, a portion of the Milk River Project near Babb, Montana, suffered a disastrous failure, flooding the nearby community and threatening the economic certainty of a large portion of our state.
 Biden-Harris Administration Outlines Strategic Priorities to Strengthen the Nation’s Response to Wildfire
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued a joint memo to federal agency leaders with wildfire responsibilities outlining their vision and goals for managing wildland fires this year. The Secretaries’ memo highlights fire management investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, as well as other strategic priorities to reduce wildfire risk, restore ecosystems, engage in post-fire recovery, support the wildland fire workforce, and make communities more resilient to fire.
 Collaborative Conservation: USDA NRCS and U.S. Forest Service Joint Chiefs' Project Preserves Forested Lands
The Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Partnership between the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Forest Service holds great significance for the conservation and restoration of forested lands in northwest Montana.
NRCS and the Flathead National Forest are working together to address fuel loads and reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire to communities near the Salish Mountains west of Kalispell and north to the Whitefish Range. The multi-year project aims to address the unique challenges faced by public and private forested lands in the area, according to Sean Johnson, NRCS District Conservationist in Flathead County. These challenges include wildfire risk, forest health issues, invasive species, habitat fragmentation, and the protection of water resources.
A Rancher's Journey: Caring for the Land, Cattle, and Community
In the quiet town of Stanford, Montana, grassy plains spread out to the surrounding mountains where Rick Caquelin has embraced full-time ranching post-retirement. For over three decades, Caquelin worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), assisting ranchers and farmers across the state in improving land management.
"Without NRCS, I would have still ended up here, but I would have never gained the knowledge on how to do it or have been as successful," says Caquelin.
 Montana State's Eastern Ag Research Center blends high-tech analysis with diverse on-farm exploration
Eastern Montana may be typecast for its sparse population and rolling landscape, but its vast expanses make it an optimal region for the state’s largest industry.
Along the Yellowstone River near the North Dakota border, Montana State University’s Eastern Agricultural Research Center serves 13 counties that produce nearly three quarters of Montana’s pulse crop acreage, which leads the nation, and almost half its wheat.
Plant Identification Resources
Field season is starting in earnest for weed managers as spring warms up, and plant identification needs are increasing along with the late spring temperatures. Below is a list of links to online publications and resources that can help meet many plant identification needs in Montana and regionally.
 Public comment being accepted on the following:
- Montana Great Outdoors Conservation Easement
- Notice of Adoption: Montana Wildlife Habitat Improvement Act
- Lake Trout Suppression at Swan Lake Draft EA
Drought conditions could trigger closures, restrictions on Montana waterbodies
Anglers should be aware that restrictions and closures may be implemented soon due to drought conditions. The trigger for angling closures typically happens when the temperature of a waterbody reaches 73 degrees F for three consecutive days. However, some closures can occur at lower temperatures depending on the species being protected.
 Waste pesticide disposal events coming to three Montana areas
The MDA program, which will take place in the second week of July, will help people dispose of pesticides that have become unusable as originally intended or cannot be used responsibly for other purposes, according to the Facebook post by Butte Silver-Bow.
 USDA Announces Nearly $66M for Conservation Work with States, Tribes, Private Landowners as Part of Investing in America Agenda
During a meeting of the Western Governors' Association today, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is investing nearly $66 million for projects to reduce wildfire risk, protect water quality and improve forest health across the nation as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
Podcast Corner
Are Cows "Tools"? The Effects of Language with Anna Clare Monlezun
Our language both reveals and shapes our internal philosophy about all of the beings and things in the world. And it guides our behaviors and interactions with those things -- humans, animals, plants, and non-living things. Yet these below-the-hood inclinations are formed very informally, usually without conscious thought. This interview with Anna Clare follows from an article in Rangelands on whether we should consider cattle 'partners' rather than 'tools' and invites the listener to ponder this not-so-esoteric question.
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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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---2024---
July
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9 - Montana Invasive Species Council Meeting
For more information, click here
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10 - Riparian Workshop (Big Timber, MT)
For registration information, click here
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19 - Summer Field Tour (Norris, MT)
For registration information, email noah.g.davis@gmail.com
August
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14-15 - T-Bone Classic (Billings, MT)
For registration information, click here
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21-22 - GLCI Kickin' Grass Tour (Polson, MT)
For more information & to register call Ben at (406) 544-5090
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22 - River Rendezvous (Townsend, MT)
For registration information, email mrcdc@macdnet.org
---2025---
February
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4-6 - Montana Soil Health Symposium
For registration information, click here
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9-13 - Society for Range Management Mtng (Spokane, WA)
For registration information, click here
Contacts
Stacey Barta, State Coordinator for Rangelands
(406) 594-8481
SBarta@mt.gov
Rangeland Resources Committee:
Diane Ahlgren, Chair
John Hollenback, Vice Chair
Sigurd Jensen
Jim Anderson
Leah Lewis
Ron Devlin
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