Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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For the Juelfs, It's All About the Grass
SOUTH DAKOTA RANCHERS FOCUS ON THEIR BEST ASSET: HEALTHY GRASS
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The wide-open prairie of northwestern South Dakota is a special landscape. It’s where the sagebrush and the Great Plains grasslands biomes overlap, creating rich habitat for all sorts of birds and mammals, including pronghorn and foxes, sage grouse and bobolinks.
Large, intact, working ranches in South Dakota—like the operation run by Ben and Lacey Juelfs in Harding County—are integral to the state’s economy. These ranches are also key to keeping wildlife abundant.
When Ben Juelfs was a child, he lived on a 3,000-acre ranch homesteaded by his great-grandfather in Harding County, South Dakota. In 2003, when Ben was 10 years old, his father had to sell the cow herd due to drought. The family moved to town and leased out their ranch.
In 2020, Ben and Lacey took over full management of the Juelfs’ ranch with their own young family. The couple centers their operation around custom grazing that offers them financial flexibility and keeps their grasslands productive.
“Grass is our biggest asset. But I think oftentimes as livestock producers, it’s one of the least-managed resources,” Ben says.
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Eastern WLFW Webinar April 9
WLFW EAST KICKS OFF NEW WEBINAR SERIES:
"THE LAND MANAGER'S TOOLBOX"
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“Start the Conversation” is a practical webinar designed to help both landowners and biologists feel confident when taking the first step toward habitat improvement.
Participants will learn what biologists typically bring to a site visit, what information landowners should prepare, and how both sides can work together to set goals, build trust, and get a conservation project started on the right foot.
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| New Short Film from IMAGINE
PARTNERS ARE COMING TOGETHER IN CARBON COUNTY, WY TO BATTLE INVASIVE ANNUAL GRASSES
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This latest film in IMAGINE's (Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems) Defend Your Core series focuses on innovative partnerships in Carbon County, Wyoming and highlights why managing cheatgrass can’t wait.
This film showcases how local project partners recognize the urgency to manage invasive annual grasses now and how pushing boundaries to get the work done can make all the difference.
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Great Basin Fire Probability Maps Updated for 2026
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WLFW-DEVELOPED MAPS PROVIDE KEY INSIGHTS TO UPCOMING FIRE SEASON, HELP MANAGERS BETTER PREPARE SHOULD AN IGNITION OCCUR
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Each March, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Working Lands for Wildlife release the Great Basin Rangeland Fire Probability Map to forecast the likelihood of a large (> 1,000 acres) fire in this arid sagebrush region. The outlook for severe fires in 2026 is low.
“It’s looking like we’re back in safer territory in 2026, other than the hotspot in eastern Oregon,” says Joe Smith, the Working Lands for Wildlife researcher who designed and updates the map.
The annual forecast map gives land managers and firefighters the power to prepare ahead of the upcoming fire season. This can reduce the harm caused by large rangeland wildfires in the Great Basin.
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Upland Bird Leks: The Wildest Dance Floors On Earth
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EACH SPRING, PRAIRIE CHICKENS, SHARP-TAILED AND SAGE GROUSE CONVENE ON NORTH AMERICA’S GRASSLANDS AND SAGEBRUSH PLAINS TO STRUT THEIR STUFF
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At sunrise on lovely spring mornings, certain pockets of prairie and sagebrush plains transform into some of the wildest dance floors on Earth.
Upland birds gather on small patches of open ground across North America’s sagebrush-steppe and Great Plains grasslands. Male prairie-chickens boom, sage grouse pop, and sharp-tailed grouse spin.
Why the elaborate dance routines? To capture the attention of females in the audience who are looking to choose a mate.
Mating season for upland birds takes place from late February through early May, depending on weather conditions and elevation. For those fortunate enough to witness them, these dancing showdowns are among the most exciting wildlife spectacles in the American West.
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The Intermountain West Joint Venture wants to learn more about your work in pinyon-juniper woodlands! IWJV has created a survey to collect information on current implementation approaches, information needs, and the use of spatial data by land managers working in pinyon-juniper woodlands in the West. If the area you manage or work in contains pinyon-juniper woodlands, you are the target audience for this survey. Your responses will inform work in pinyon-juniper woodlands, including research efforts and support for managers working in these areas through initiatives such as the Pinyon-Juniper Management Network.
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NRCS Offers Disaster Assistance to Agricultural Producers in Oklahoma and Nebraska Impacted by Wildfire
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Recent wildfire in Nebraska and Oklahoma have significantly impacted producers. Through both special, response-based programs and ongoing disaster relief programs, the USDA-NRCS is providing help to producers impacted by these recent wildfires. Learn more by clicking on the links below.
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More than 6,200 acres of agricultural land in Utah was added into conservation easements in 2025 with assistance from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) contributed approximately 24 million to protect working agricultural lands while preserving Utah’s natural resources. Learn more about these special places in the title link.
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This inspiring story from WyoFile highlights efforts to move a lek away from the busy Jackson Hole Airport through the use of robot sage grouse made by local students.
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The Working Lands for Wildlife partnership supports the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service's premier approach for conserving America's working lands to benefit people, wildlife, and rural communities. In the West, WLFW is guided by two, action-based frameworks for conservation. The framework approach is designed to increase conservation and restoration of rangelands by addressing major threats to rangeland health and through the implementation of conservation measures that limit soil disturbance, support sustainable grazing management, promote the strategic use of prescribed fire, and support native grassland species. Together, the frameworks leverage the power of voluntary, win-win conservation solutions to benefit people and wildlife from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
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