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Posted in Other Programs
Tagged 7 Blackfoot Drainage, BLM, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, CMR, Conservation District, Corp of Engineers, DNRC, Garfield County Conservation District, McCone Conservation District, Missouri River Conservation Districts Council, Montana Salt Cedar Team, MRCDC, MST, noxious weeds, salt cedar, US Fish and Wildlife Services, weeds
The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR NWR) Community Working Group will meet on June 11th in Malta at the Phillips County Public Library, 10 South 4th Street E, from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Join us for presentations on the impact of rangeland conversion to cropland on sage grouse populations and the effects of grazing management practices on sage grouse habitat. There will also be updates on the Montana Greater Sage Grouse Stewardship Act, and the Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT). The CMR Community Working Group recently formed a sub-committee to be an information and educational clearing house for all conservation programs, initiatives, and incentives related to sage grouse, with the express purpose of helping to engage landowners and match them to the program that best fits their needs.
Lunch is available for $7.00. The public is encouraged to attend and provide input as the group seeks to influence the vitality and sustainability of the 6-county region surrounding the CMR NWR. For more information, call Rachel Frost 406-454-0056 or visit CM-Russell-NWR-Community-Working-Group on Facebook.
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Go to “About Us” and “Newsletter 2015”.
Will be mailed out next week, too. Enjoy!
Posted in About Us
Tagged BLM, board of supervisors, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, CMR, Conservation District, cover crops, crop diversity, DNRC, local, local working group, lwg, McCone Conservation District, McCone County, McCone County Fairgrounds, meeting, newsletter, NRCS, Range, soil health, spring, US Fish and Wildlife Services
Here’s your opportunity to express your natural resource concerns. Possible resource concerns can include specific target areas or concerns such as noxious weeds, soil & range health, wildlife habitat or inadequate water supply for livestock and/or wildlife.
It will be held at the McCone County Fairgrounds from 6pm – 8pm.
Hope to see you there!
Stakeholders learn about a variety of different ways to assess wildlife habitat and rangeland health on the CMR NWR
The brisk fall weather of early October did not hamper more than 50 people from gathering on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge north of the Fort Kipp Recreation Area to learn about rangeland monitoring. The Monitoring Roundup was organized and sponsored by members of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge Community Working Group (CMR CWG). The purpose of the event was to help diverse stakeholders come to a common understanding of how land is evaluated and how that information may be used in management decisions.
Read more at link http://missouririvercouncil.info/rangeland-monitoring-roundup/
It’s hard to fit a cowboy hat into an airplane seat. Just ask Missouri River Conservation Districts Council (MRCDC) members Dean Rogge and Steve Wanderaas, who traveled to Denver with MRCDC Coordinator Rachel Frost, to meet with US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) personnel at the Regional Offices. The reason for the meeting was 1,100,000 acres in the heart of Montana, better known as the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR NWR). The retirement of former Refuge Manager, Rick Potts, has left the Refuge and the surrounding communities wondering who the new project leader will be and what direction they will choose for the Refuge. As founders of the Charles M. Russell NWR Community Working Group (CMR CWG), the MRCDC has a vested interest in the new Project Leader and high hopes for their desire to work with the surrounding landowners and community.
The visit was intended to convey the interest landowners have in leveraging conservation in partnership with the Refuge. Despite the large size of the CMR, it is not capable of supporting the desired populations of wildlife that make Montana special. However, when private landowners and public land managers communicate and work toward common goals while protecting the economic viability of a region, amazing things can be accomplished in the name of conservation. Rogge and Wanderaas, both ranchers from the area, expressed these convictions to Mike Blenden, Regional Refuge Manager for Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada at his office in Denver. The ranchers described the CMR Community Working Group and its diverse members ranging from landowners, Conservation District (CD) supervisors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), agencies and interested citizens, and the importance of the CMR staff maintaining involvement with the group. Then they briefed Blenden on current cooperative conservation efforts spearheaded by the CDs that involved the Refuge as a partner, such as the Montana Saltcedar Team and the Montana Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) program. Blenden was understandably impressed by the extent of positive activities initiated by the local CDs and intrigued at the extent to which districts have reached out to the Refuge as partners.
“For any conservation effort to be successful, it has to have local buy-in and support”, Dean Rogge advocated. Mike Blenden agreed and conveyed that the new era for Refuge management was to work in cooperation with the local community, and not operate as an island of federal land with a completely different management objective. Mr. Blenden expressed his interest in attending a CMR CWG meeting in person and a new-found appreciation for the local communities and their potential to enhance the overall experience of the CMR. MRCDC believes the meeting set the stage for a positive relationship between CDs and the new Refuge Manager, who should be on the job sometime early in 2015.
The trip to Denver concluded with a short meeting with Michael Thabault, Assistant Regional Director of Ecological Services. Mr. Thabault is leading the Service’s efforts to determine if the Greater Sage Grouse should be listed as endangered. Rogge and Wanderaas conveyed the interest of Montana landowners to creating a similar success story for sage grouse as the story of Arctic Graying in the Big Hole Valley, where it was recently determined that the species did not warrant federal protection. Thabault provided insight on the decision making process employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and educational opportunities for landowners to understand the implications of having an endangered species on their land. MRCDC will work with the Montana Association of Conservation Districts (MACD) and other groups to bring these educational opportunities to Montana landowners.
Tagged CDs, Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, CMR Community Working Group, Conservation Districts, Garfield County Conservation District, MACD, McCone Conservation District, Missouri River Conservation Districts Council, Montana Association of Conservation Districts, Montana Sage Grouse Initiative Program, Montana Salt Cedar Team, MRCDC, Refuge Manager, SGI, US Fish and Wildlife Services
McCone Conservation District 