Ranching 101 is an 8-part webinar series designed to help private lands biologists build stronger, more effective relationships with producers. Through candid conversations with ranchers, experienced biologists, and subject matter experts, participants will gain a clearer understanding of the economic, ecological, logistical, and personal realities that shape decisions on working lands. From grazing systems, drought, and infrastructure to conservation programs, trust-building, and wildlife outcomes, each session connects conservation goals with real-world ranching considerations. Whether you are new to private lands conservation or looking to deepen your producer-centered approach, this series will help you ask better questions, offer more relevant support, and design conservation solutions that work for both people and the land.
Please register for each session individually. Registration is currently open for the first three sessions. Note that we are working on additional speakers for each of the first three topics. Please reach out to Lisa Baril (lbaril@ducks.org) with questions.
This opening session grounds participants in the day-to-day realities of livestock production, from types of operations to the annual production cycle to the role of forage, water, animal care, and timing of decisions. Participants will come away with a stronger understanding of how ranchers think through practical decisions and why effective conservation support begins with listening, appreciating context, and respect for the operation as a whole.
21 September 2026 @ 1PM MT/2PM CT
This session pulls back the curtain on the financial pressures that influence ranching decisions, helping participants understand why conservation recommendations must make sense economically as well as ecologically. Through discussion of costs, volatility, drought risk, and the balance between forage for livestock and habitat goals, participants will learn to approach planning with greater realism and empathy.
7 October 2026 @ 3PM MT/4PM CT
Grazing management is often more complex than it appears from the outside. This session helps participants understand the choices behind different grazing approaches, including timing, stocking decisions, forage conditions, infrastructure, nutrition, and producer goals, so you can have more informed conversations and avoid one-size-fits-all recommendations.
28 October 2026 @ 9AM MT/10AM CT
Drought and weather uncertainty can force producers to make high-stakes decisions with incomplete information. This session explores how ranchers assess risk, respond to changing forage conditions while considering livestock needs, and weigh financial and emotional pressures, helping participants design conservation plans that are flexible, practical, and grounded in empathy.
Registration details coming soon!
Good conservation ideas only succeed when they can be implemented and maintained on a working ranch. This session focuses on the real-world factors that shape project feasibility, including infrastructure, labor, contractors, timing, costs, maintenance, and producer capacity, while highlighting how practical, well-matched projects can build trust and open the door to larger conservation opportunities.
Registration details coming soon!
Conservation programs look different from the producer side of the table. This session examines how funding opportunities, paperwork, timelines, program rules, and flexibility influence whether conservation can happen on the ground, giving participants a clearer sense of how to communicate options, manage expectations, and connect producers with the right tools at the right time.
Registration details coming soon!
Strong conservation partnerships are built on trust before practices. This session explores how biologists can listen more effectively, communicate without sounding prescriptive, acknowledge producer knowledge and stewardship, and co-develop solutions that reflect shared goals, mutual respect, and the human side of working lands conservation.
Registration details coming soon!
This closing session connects the pieces of the series by showing how wildlife conservation and ranching can support one another when habitat goals are tied to operational realities, recognizing producers’ stewardship, and providing practical feedback that helps landowners see the conservation value of their day-to-day management.
Registration details coming soon!
Previous Webinars
From Genetics to Management: Prioritizing Grassland Bird Conservation Across the Full Annual Life Cycle
Grasslands in North America are disappearing, which is causing many grassland-dependent birds to decline as well. Scientists from Colorado State University and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies are using genetic data and population models to figure out where these birds go throughout the year and which populations are most at risk. Their goal is to help agencies and decision-makers know where to focus conservation efforts to protect these birds and support their recovery.
The Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems (IMAGINE) at the University of Wyoming uses coproduced science, outreach, and education programs to develop, implement, evaluate, and adjust statewide and regional strategies for mitigating impacts of invasive annual grasses in rangelands while empowering informed decision making by landowners and managers. Check out IMAGINE’S website here.
Jaycie Arndt is the Invasive Grasses Specialist and coordinator for IMAGINE and NEWIGWG (Northeast Wyoming Invasive Grasses Working Group). Jaycie conducts rangeland and weed science research, develops educational materials, organizes the IMAGINE Monitoring Network, and facilitates annual grass workshops throughout Wyoming.
Playa Lakes Joint Venture recently completed a NRCS CIG project that connects social science research and communications to promote brush management behavior in Kansas and Oklahoma. During this webinar, insights will be shared from a literature review, key informant interviews, and focus groups that examine motivations and barriers to conducting brush management. The process for integrating these data into targeted communication messages aimed to increase participation in brush management will also be discussed. Although this study was completed in Kansas and Oklahoma, this research is relevant to the Northern Great Plains.
Ryan Roberts is the Social Science Specialist at Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Ryan has experience designing and implementing social science research that seeks to understand how grassland producers perceive and manage against invasive tree and shrub species.
Ventenata: Small Grass, Big Problem
The invasive annual grass ventenata (Ventenata dubia) is an increasing problem on grasslands of the Northern Great Plains. This presentation will focus on ventenata’s identification, biology, and ecology, and share some of the latest research into its management.
Dr. Jane Mangold is a professor and an extension invasive plant specialist at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. She has been researching and teaching others about invasive plants on western rangeland for over 25 years. Many of her efforts have focused on invasive annual grasses, but she has also studied and written about many perennial invasive forbs on the region’s noxious weed lists.
Rangeland Analysis Platform
RAP offers powerful, easy-to-use tools and data that help practitioners understand, visualize, and respond to complex challenges in rangeland ecosystems. By integrating remote sensing, field observations, and machine learning, RAP enables stakeholders—from ranchers and conservationists to policymakers and resource managers—to evaluate vegetation trends, identify areas at risk, and design targeted management strategies.
With Dr. Scott Morford, Associate Director of the
Working Lands for Wildlife Science Team at the University of Montana.
Soil Health
With Keela Deaton, Soil Health Specialist, USDA-NRCS Montana
Grazing 101
This one-hour webinar is for field practitioners working on private working lands in the Northern Great Plains. Learn about the principles of range management, considering the whole system, and grazing impacts on plants.
With Dr. Krista Ehlert, Assistant Professor & State Extension Range Specialist, South Dakota State University.