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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
New Look, Same Great Information!
The Rangeland Resources Program (RRP) has a NEW website! The new site features improved functionality, including a mobile friendly version. Check it out here!
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Working Lands Internship Program Accepting Applications!
The WLIP is accepting applications now until the deadline of February 3, 2025. If you know a college Junior or Senior who is looking for an immersive 10-12 week paid summer internship, this is an amazing opportunity! Click herefor additional details and application information.
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Wickens Salt Creek Ranch Recognized for Leopold Conservation Award
Eric & Emma Wickens were recognized as the 2024 Leopold Conservation Award Winners for outstanding conservation efforts on their Salt Creek Ranch outside of Hilger, Montana. The award was presented at the 2024 Montana Farm Bureau Federation Conference in Billings, October 19-21, 2024.
Application deadline for 2025 LCA nominations is March 3, 2025; for details and application information, click here.
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Save These Dates!
The RRP has been busy working on details for the following events to take place throughout 2025. Be sure to mark your calendars and plan on attending one or all of these fantastic learning opportunities!
- Rangelands in the Rotunda
(MT State Capital, Helena) March 25, 2025
- 406 Grazing Academy (Havre, MT) June 3.5, 2025
- Montana Range Tour (Hilger, MT) June 18, 2025
- 406 Grazing Academy: The Next Bite (Lewistown, MT) Aug. 19-21, 2025
Event details for each event including agendas, cost, and logistics will be available March 2025.
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They Think They’re Just Ranching
In the vast grasslands of the Northern Great Plains, ranchers have long been the silent stewards of some of America’s most fragile ecosystems. These are people who understand the land in a way few others do—people whose hands are calloused from years of hard work, and whose education often comes from the very soil they nurture.
A Polaris UTV serves as steed as Leo Barthelmess ushers cattle to the next pasture on his south Phillips County, Montana ranch. Meanwhile, buzzwords are thrown around a college campus six-and-a-half hours away in Missoula: resiliency, sustainability, conservation, preservation.
And he thinks he’s just ranching.
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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. With a goal of trying to provide maximum rest from grazing on their lands, working with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been a great vehicle to benefit the long-term use of the grassland.
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FAO report clears path to food security, climate solutions for animal agriculture
Political leaders, industry workers, activists and academics gathered in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates recently for the United Nations’ annual climate change conference – COP28 – an event where big climate ideas were championed, and smaller ones were reinforced.
This year’s summit put a bright light on our food system, exploring at length how we can improve the climate footprint of the meals that end up on plates around the world.
I had the pleasure of speaking at COP28, and I was on the ground as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization released its latest report, Pathways towards lower emissions – A global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems. A good deal of press leading up to COP28 reported the FAO planned to call for reductions in consumption of animal-source foods in developed regions as a way to limit emissions from our livestock sector.
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Conservation & Partnerships
 Montana Sheep Grower Explores Value-Added Options for Livestock
In the wide-open rangelands of eastern Montana, Ben Lehfeldt shepherds thousands of sheep over hill and dale near the Musselshell River. As a fifth-generation rancher, his herds are reminiscent of centuries past.
Lehfeldt’s great-great-grandpa first settled these rolling grasslands in 1885 at the beginning of Montana’s sheep boom. By the turn of the 20th century, Montana was the nation’s top sheep-growing and wool-producing state, [t.e2ma.net] with six million sheep roaming the range.
Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team Board Meeting
The Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT) will meet on Friday, December 13, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Montana Room (1st floor) at the DNRC Headquarters building and via Zoom. The meeting will be recorded for those who cannot attend. The meeting will feature all of the conservation easements funded through the Montana Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program using Stewardship Account funds.
 Montana Stockgrowers Opposes the Federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Council New Recommendations
On October 22, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) previewed the content in their upcoming scientific report. This report includes their recommendations on how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should develop the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in the coming year. It will be sent to USDA and HHS sometime before December 9th.
MSGA Files a Motion to Intervene on Case Challenging DEQ’s CAFO General Permit
the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) filed a motion to intervene in the case Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Food & Water Watch, and Center for Food Safety vs. Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). This litigation began in November of 2023, when the plaintiffs sued the DEQ regarding the renewal of its Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) General Permit. The plaintiffs assert that Montana’s revised CAFO General Permit, issued November 15, 2023, lacked monitoring provisions to track and measure water pollution.
Agency Updates
Funding Available Now!
Multiple Grant 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.
Interior Department proposes strengthened protections for greater sage-grouse habitat
The Department of the Interior announced today that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published proposed updates to strengthen conservation and management of greater sage-grouse habitat on public lands, informed by the best available science, collaborative work with states, and input from local, Tribal and federal partners.
 NRCS Sets Conservation Program Funding Application Dates
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Montana is accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE), and Agricultural Land Easements (ALE). There are several dates to be aware of for the current funding cycle of these programs.
• CSP Classic: Dec. 27, 2024
USDA Seeks Public Input on Climate Benefits of Conservation Practice Standards
USDA is seeking public input by December 23, 2024, on how to improve conservation practice standards to maximize climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits, as supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature. Conservation practices providing climate benefits are delivered through existing USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs popular with producers, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) as well as NRCS technical assistance. The Inflation Reduction Act, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, and Farm Bill provide funding for these programs.
 Applications Open!
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is soliciting applications to become the next Nonpoint Source Focus Watershed area. This geographic area will be eligible for approximately $500,000 annually of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 319 program funding from 2026-2028 (a combined $1.5M over three years) and additional technical assistance from DEQ staff.
 How locoweeds host a fungus that makes them toxic to livestock, but don’t seem to care
Locoweeds are a group of about 25 toxic legume species (Astragalus spp. and Oxytropis spp.) native to US western rangelands that can cause livestock poisoning. In Montana, the perennial white locoweed (Oxytropis sericea) (photo, right) is the most common species. Locoweed creates economic losses due to ‘locoism,’ a neurological disease of livestock caused by the alkaloid swainsonine. Swainsonine is made exclusively by a slow-growing fungus (Undifilum oxytropis), known as an “endophyte,” which lives between cells in leaves so the plant does not see it as a pathogen.
 Public Comment Opportunities
 Free Tax Education Webinar
I need to choose WHAT? Join Rob Holcomb from University of Minesota for a webinar discussing the different types and characteristics of formal ag business entities. He will provide an overview of their advantages, disadvantages and tax implications.
Podcast Corner
An Unfiltered Rancher Response to Virtual Fencing
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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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December
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4-6 - Montana Stock Growers Annual Convention (Billings, MT)
To register click here
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11 - EMRA Meeting (Miles City, MT)
For additional details, contact emra.regen@gmail.com
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16, 17, 18 - DNRC Floodplain Seminar (Virtual)
For additional information contact: tsears@mt.gov or shylea.wingard@mt.gov
---2025---
January
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6 - MT Legislative Session (Helena, MT)
For details and Legislative calendar, click here
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16 - Winnett ACES Annual Meeting (Winnett, MT)
For more information, click here
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30-31 - WMT Winter Grazing Conference (Missoula, MT)
For additional details, email office@missoulacd.org
February
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4-6 - Montana Soil Health Symposium (Billings, MT)
For registration information, click here
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9-13 - Society for Range Management (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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