NGPJV Helps the Winnett ACES Support Ground Soil Health
It started with a “maybe someday” wish that I mumbled to myself as I closed an email from Integrity Soils about the new four month “CREATE” program on soil health coaching approaches hosted by Nicole Masters. This 22-week program was designed to train and empower agricultural consultants and coaches in the theory, principles and practices behind healthy,
Pheasants Forever and Prairie Paradise Farms Work Together in South Dakota
In early 2021, Pheasants Forever (PF) successfully concluded a generous grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) awarded via their Northern Great Plains initiative. During the three-year grant period, PF worked closely with the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) program, and the South Dakota (SD) Department of Game, Fish and Parks
Welcome to the NGPJV, Erin
Erin Fairbank is the new Conservation Programs Coordinator for the Northern Great Plains Joint Venture. With the NGPJV, she will be working on creating and maintaining partnerships, project collaboration, and overseeing funding programs. Erin has extensive experience working with habitat and bird conservation programs, agricultural operations, and is partnership-oriented. Her background includes over 20 years of
A Renewed Sense of Urgency for Grassland Bird Conservation
The 2022 State of the Birds report was released in October with a sobering and urgent prognosis for birds. In the U.S., more than half of all bird species are showing population declines and 70 tipping point species have lost half or more of their populations in the last 50 years. Grassland birds are a
Dakotas-Tagged Curlews Are Spending Winter in Texas and Beyond
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
Grant Used to Increase Grassland in South Dakota
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
Satellite-tracking of Long-Billed Curlews to Identify Migrations and Habitat Use in North Dakota
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
Low-tech Mesic Restoration
“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
Carbon Capture in the Grasslands
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
In Cahoots for Conservation
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
N-GRIP – A Conservation Bridge
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
Enrollment is Now Open for the Montana Declining Grassland Birds SAFE
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).