It’s a clear, May morning, on the plains of eastern Montana. The dawn chorus of birds welcomes the sun as it crests over hills of waving bunch grass. You can’t turn in any direction here without seeing a meadowlark singing atop a shrub or fencepost. You also can’t look anywhere without seeing, or hearing, cows.

A new survey finds that, after learning more, 68% of respondents now consider grasslands a critical ecosystem. Forty-seven percent of Americans are unfamiliar with grasslands—one of the nation’s most essential and most threatened ecosystems, according to new national survey findings released by the America’s Grasslands Coalition. However, after completing the survey, more than two-thirds ranked

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) continues to make significant progress in improving wildlife movement across western South Dakota through its wildlife‑friendly fencing program. Since 2019, GFP and cooperating landowners have improved connectivity across approximately 200,000 acres of pronghorn habitat. Notably, 2025 marked the program’s most productive year yet, with more than 66,000 acres

Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture (NGPJV) are seeking a Science Integration Coordinator to work across the Northern Great Plains region. This is a new leadership position that will coordinate and support the NGPJV’s efforts to integrate social, economic, ecological, and traditional science into strategic habitat conservation outcomes. Rural, resilient communities

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alexis Canen greets us at her family ranch in eastern Montana. It’s a warm day in late June. She’s wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and a medical boot wrapped in a blue sack on her left foot. The sack is to keep out the dust. The boot is to protect her wounded foot from further injury.