IT is clear that this project benefits the public interest in that IT provides native seed and seedlings that are grown in montana with seed harvested east of the rocky mountains montana, wyoming…

IT is clear that this project benefits the public interest in that IT provides native seed and seedlings that are grown in montana with seed harvested east of the rocky mountains montana, wyoming and south dakota , and can be used for native revegetation in areas damaged by fires, drought, and overgrazing these varieties of plants help native species of wildlife to live and thrive because they provide necessary food and habit for many levels of the wildlife chain and specifically focus on helping sage grouse chicks to survive their first three to five months of life the benefits also extend to the public through providing vocational needs to our developmentally disabled DD adult residents as they have learned to harvest seeds and then grow thousands of seedlings that help fulfill the needs of the BLM, private organizations and property owners, state wildlife agencies and other conservation groups the vocational benefits for our residents and local high school and college students have helped them experience another aspect of the teaching and learning of the horticulture wildlife industry i also hope that many others will have the opportunity to take a road trip to SKR and have our residents students show them where and how their hard work can impact many other areas of life this project will be focused on increasing the production of seeds on the grow out areas and an increase in the field harvest of native seed, included with this increase of seed base this project includes a cold storage for gathered seed with an increase in seed gathering we will increase plant production through an increase in the size of the grow out area we will be using some harvesting equipment for our type and variety of plants while some plants will still need our hands on harvesting technique the rest will be utilizing the types of specialized harvesting equipment that has been recently proven effective with increased harvesting abilities, we will also have a need for increased cleaning and sorting of the seeds which we are now doing on site with a designated indoor facility and equipment the need for qualified personnel involved in this project has been an ongoing struggle for several years as BLM personnel has gone through their own numerical transformation and special k ranch has as well we now have a full time employee engaged in this project who has the education, training and the vision to make a necessary step forward in the success of our efforts since 2007 special k ranch has cooperated with BLM staff and their vision for the continued success of this program to help restore wild prairie lands and increase the wildlife habitat throughout montana, wyoming, north dakota and south dakota i believe that in the next five years we will see a very significant impact in restoration efforts succeeding due to the efforts to improve the seed genetic diversity, availability, and quality there is also a noticeable increase in the cooperation of numerous private groups interested in being a part of this effort all of US working together will impact everyone s efforts and create a better opportunity for success