Sustaining Bird Habitats & Rural Communities

The Northern Great Plains Joint Venture Expands Grassland Conservation Efforts into Southeastern Wyoming

2023 CottonwoodDrawHMA ERoth

Cottonwood Draw Habitat Management Area in Platte County, WY. Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

We are pleased to announce the expansion of our reach to include three counties in southeastern Wyoming: Platte, Goshen, and Laramie counties. Why the Expansion? Previously included in the Intermountain West Joint Venture, these counties feature predominantly grassland landscapes that more closely align with the NGPJV’s mission of grassland conservation.  Protecting Critical Grassland Habitats: By … Read more

Migratory Bird Joint Ventures Celebrate 40 Years of Partnership

5R3A1131

USFWS Director Brian Nesvik delivers the keynote speech at the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Migratory Bird Joint Ventures.

This year marks 40 years of partnership-driven bird and habitat conservation led by the North American Migratory Bird Joint Ventures! Since the North American Waterfowl Management Plan called for their creation in 1986, the Joint Ventures have become widely accepted as the model for cooperative conservation. Joint Ventures share a vision of a North American … Read more

2025 Annual Report

Angus Grazing

Credit: Tayler Scherr

Download As our planet starts yet another journey around the sun, I’ve been doing some reflecting. Change was undeniably a defining characteristic of 2025. But so was resilience—resilience in colleagues and friends, in conservation organizationsand agencies, and in our work together. The power of the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture (NGPJV) collaborative remains strong. I … Read more

Grasslands Triple Crown: A Journey Through South Dakota’s Grasslands

Grasslands Gravel

Michelle Maupin Barrett for the Fort Pierre Tourism & Promotion Council

The Northern Great Plains Joint Venture in collaboration with the South Dakota Grasslands Initiative sponsored the inaugural Grasslands Triple Crown Cycling Series in western South Dakota. The event drew 250 cyclists from 11 states. Each of the three events included a segment that passed through a USFS National Grassland: Fort Pierre, Grand River, and Buffalo … Read more

JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative Unveils New Website

JV8Horiz logo

The JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative is excited to announce the official launch of its newly redesigned website, now live at JV8.org. The JV8 Central Grasslands Conservation Initiative is a long-term collaborative effort by eight Migratory Bird Joint Ventures (JVs) working together to implement grassland conservation from Mexico to Canada. The redesigned website offers a … Read more

Winnett, MT Teens Connect People & Place Through Story

Img 3523

The small town of Winnett is located in Petroleum County—the least populated county in Montana. The stoic rimrocks and undulating prairie here humbles me in the best of ways. Since spending time in Winnett in 2021 for our film Life in the Land: Central Montana Plains, I’ve had a great respect for this community, who … Read more

Range Improvements Benefit Livestock and Wildlife Near Gillette, Wyoming

Img 20240530 144118 (1)

In fall 2018, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Sheridan Region Terrestrial Habitat Biologist Todd Caltrider began working with members of the Spring Creek Grazing Association on a long-term plan to improve range conditions on the Thunder Basin National Grassland and several adjoining private properties northeast of Gillette, Wyoming. Multiple projects were implemented over several years … Read more

Using Fire to Manage Grasslands

Usfws Rocky Mountain Arsenal Prescribed Burn 2014

Interagency Fire Crews conduct a prescribed burn on the RMA to reduce weeds and hazardous fuels.

The red-orange fingers of fire are rarely a welcome sight – especially when they’re racing across precious landscapes and threatening homes and communities – but there are times when fire is one of the most useful tools we have to maintain and preserve the health of ecosystems. While it may seem counterintuitive, planned ignition – … Read more

NGPJV Hosts Private Lands Biologist Forum in Lewistown, Montana

Slide

On April 1 & 2 the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture (NGPJV) hosted a private lands biologist forum in Lewistown, Montana. Nearly 60 representatives from eighteen organizations gathered for this two-day event. The purpose of the forum was to encourage networking and relationship-building among biologists working toward grasslands conservation on private lands in eastern Montana. … Read more