In southwest Montana, a creative partnership is improving sagebrush habitat, providing jobs, and empowering youth, one project at a time.

The Burke Family’s long partnership with NRCS has led to better forage for livestock and wildlife and, in 2017, their ranch was protected in perpetuity through a NRCS-supported conservation easement.

Magazine Article | This article originally appeared in the March-April 2020 issue of Montana Outdoors, the magazine of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is reposted here with permission.

In February, the Society for Rangeland Management awarded Rebecca Knapp its highest honor, Rangeland Management Specialist of the Year. We sat down with Knapp to discuss her approach to conservation and how SGI has helped her efforts.

Innovative partnerships with private landowners and public land managers on working rangelands in Southwest Montana are conserving sagebrush country.

By Tim Griffiths | Pickup trucks, working dogs, cowboy hats, and running shoes. These were the diverse sights this past Saturday at the Montana Ranch Run.

With help from NRCS, Montana rancher returns cropland to permanent grasses and forbs to provide forage for livestock and sage grouse.

Partners come together — including youth field crews — to improve working lands for wildlife in southwest Montana.

By Hayden Nelson, SGI Range Conservationist, Roundup, Montana NRCS Field Office | Landowners are partnering with the Sage Grouse Initiative to restore sagebrush habitat and grazing lands.

by Brianna Randall | Conserving our natural resources is one of the ways we can give back to our children, communities, and economy for years to come. And the gift that keeps on giving is a conservation easement.