North central montana is a stronghold for the northern sagebrush ecosystem and a core intact landscape for montana

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $162,000 Cooperative Agreement to Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Montana, under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife (CFDA 15.631) federal grant program. The funding will support the delivery of livestock water infrastructure and improved grazing management practices across Bureau of Land Management allotments and private lands in north central Montana. This project aims to enhance habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse and other wildlife in the Northern Sagebrush Ecosystem, a critical landscape. By working with local ranchers, the project will contribute to community vitality and sustainability while reducing livestock impacts on sensitive areas through more intensive rotation and longer rest periods. The Cooperative Agreement has an ultimate completion date of December 31, 2029.

IT is home to one of the only known migratory populations of greater sage grouse in the country. This region has limited surface water availability for livestock and ground water resources have been historically difficult to access due to the unique geology of the area which is underlain by a thick layer of shale. Stock water wells must reach depths of at least six hundred to nine hundred feet to access known ground water resources leaving water system development largely out of reach for ranch budgets. Consequently grazing management has been limited by the location and seasonality of surface reservoirs. This project will provide much needed livestock water infrastructure and grazing management flexibility to a region of intermixed bureau of land management allotments and private land in north valley county montana. Improved grazing management reduces livestock impact on sensitives areas that may have been degraded in the past. More intensive rotation and longer rest periods between grazing contributes to increased carbon storage in the soil and increases the operations resilience to drought. By working with local ranchers and contractors funding contributes to community vitality and sustainability.