This spring, American Bird Conservancy, North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF), and Intermountain Bird Observatory partnered to equip nine Long-billed Curlews with satellite and cellular tracking devices in the Dakotas. Curlews have lost much of their historical range; identifying key habitat features will help land managers to make decisions that stabilize and improve the … Read more
Pheasants Forever has completed on-the-ground activities within Phases I & II of the grant ‘Using Decision-Support Tools to Deliver Grassland Bird Conservation.’ This grant was developed by the USFWS Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET) as a way to deliver a multitude of grazing systems. Partners collaborating on this grant include the U.S. Fish and … Read more
Long-billed Curlews are an iconic grassland bird of the Northern Great Plains. Historically, curlews occurred across the NGPJV region of North Dakota but now their range is mostly restricted to Golden Valley, Billings, Slope and Bowman counties. Curlews continue to be found throughout other parts of the Northern Great Plains. Identifying key features the species … Read more
“Watch out for snakes.” This was the greeting we received as we pulled our convoy into a distant stretch of prairie under a sunny sky in eastern Wyoming. We were in a place where the skies and grasslands were vast, with a herd of cattle contentedly grazing on the low hillsides. The fact that we … Read more
As I sit down to write this article, the price for a barrel of oil continues to decline and is now less than $92 per barrel. That is a welcome relief to those of us who pay at the pump and is an indication that the demand for crude is declining due to a multitude … Read more
Since Pheasants Forever’s inception 40 years ago, they have built unbreakable bonds with conservation and agricultural minded communities. In my opinion, none are as unique as the partnerships formed with local, rancher-led groups like Winnett ACES based in Petroleum County, Montana. Winnett ACES is a grassroots non-profit organization that is dedicated to conservation and agricultural … Read more
The Northern Grasslands Restoration Incentives Program (N-GRIP) provides conservation options where others may not work or exist. “That’s the foundation of the program”, said Steve Riley, NGPJV Assistant Coordinator. “We wanted to build a program that can fill in the gaps for other programs and that virtually any conservation practitioner can put to use.” As … Read more
The State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Initiative restores vital habitat to meet high-priority state wildlife conservation goals by enabling producers to establish grasses, forbs, and shrubs that benefit wildlife. SAFE practices must be used to address wildlife habitat that can be enhanced through the restoration of eligible cropland through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). … Read more
Even as Old Man Winter stubbornly holds his icy grip on the Northern Great Plains, the cheery chortle of the Western meadowlark heralds with enthusiastic exuberance and absolute certainty, the arrival of another prairie spring. Greeting the return of this well-known, yellow-clad crooner to its fence post podiums across North Dakota’s landscape, is a broad … Read more
Spring is a time of renewal and fresh growth. Keeping with the season, the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture (NGPJV) is poised to renew and grow our commitment to grasslands with fresh capacity and direction. The NGPJV Management Board and staff recently participated in a strategic retreat to define our path forward as a coalition. … Read more
