Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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Work with WLFW and Pheasants Forever
PF and WLFW SEEKING MANAGERS FOR THE SAGEBRUSH AND GREAT PLAINS GRASSLANDS BIOMES
APPLICATION DEADLINE JULY 3
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We are thrilled to share that, in partnership with Pheasants Forever, WLFW is looking to add two full-time, salaried positions to our roster. The Sagebrush Biome Manager and the Great Plains Grasslands Manager will directly support western WLFW's efforts in the sagebrush and Great Plains Grasslands, respectively. Both positions are remote within their respective biomes.
The application deadline for both positions is July 3, 2024.
For additional information, including a full job description and application details, follow the links below or visit Pheasants Forever's career page.
Partial list of Sagebrush Biome Manager duties (Great Plains Grassland Manager duties are similar, but specific to the Great Plains Grasslands biome):
- Serve as a core member of the Western WLFW Team to elevate the continued success of sagebrush conservation.
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Serve as the principal liaison between PF and resource agencies and organizations involved in WLFW (e.g. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and National Cattlemen Beef Association) with the goal of implementing and accelerating conservation actions detailed in the WLFW Framework for Conservation Action- Sagebrush Biome.
- Create a cadre of existing shared positions throughout the sagebrush biome and align them under the common goal of accelerating Framework implementation.
- Work with NRCS and partners to identify capacity needs within their respective geographies and help them identify resources and mechanisms available to meet needs.
Interested? Apply today!
Know someone who might be interested? Share with your networks!
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Cutting Down a Juniper Tree to Save a Sage Grouse
BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO COVERS THE BOSH PROJECT
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The BOSH or Bruneau Owyhee Sagebrush Habitat Project is one of the largest conifer management projects in the West. The collaborative project is treating many thousands of acres a year, with a potential to treat more than a million acres over the life of the project. Conifer removal benefits sagebrush-dependent wildlife like sage grouse, benefits working lands, and overall sagebrush ecosystem health.
This great story from Boise State Public Radio features Pheasant Forever's Connor White, WLFW's Jeremy Maestas and writer Steve Stuebner, who share details and more about the project. It's a great listen to learn more about this ambitious project.
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| Using Fire to Manage Grasslands
LEARN ABOUT HOW PRESCRIBED FIRE IS BEING USED TO BENEFIT GRASSLANDS IN THIS STORY FROM U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
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The grasslands of the Great Plains evolved with fire over millennia. As the area was colonized during the 1800s and 1900s, natural fire regimes were disrupted allowing species like eastern redcedar to proliferate.
Prescribed fire is one tool that can help restore grasslands, eliminating invasive species, controlling encroaching conifers, and recycling nutrients, all of which benefits grasslands, wildlife, and grazing economies.
This great post from the USFWS dives into the details of how land managers are using prescribed fire to manage grasslands in the Great Plains today.
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USDA, USFWS, State Partners Find Non-Lethal Answers to Grizzly Bear Interactions on Montana Ranches
INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP HELPS PROTECT GRIZZLIES, PEOPLE, AND LIVESTOCK IN MONTANA
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Wayne Slaght has spent more than 25 years learning to coexist with grizzly bears and wolves on his Montana ranch near Ovando. In those years, he has learned an important lesson that serves as his guiding principle.
“If there’s no beef animals to eat, then they don’t learn to eat beef,” Slaght said. “They can eat deer and elk and whatever else they are supposed to.” Protecting his cows requires constant vigilance, but Slaght has worked — with the help of State and Federal government agencies and nonprofits such as the Blackfoot Challenge— to implement a variety of preventative measures on his ranch and keep predators from eating into his bottom line.
Slaght, other ranchers in the Blackfoot Valley and a variety of partners have worked for more than a decade to develop innovative community-based approaches to reduce conflict between predators, livestock and people.
Two of those partners, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), boosted their support for local, voluntary solutions this year including new funding and technical support.
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Restoring Wet Meadows in Montana's Sagebrush Sea
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FANTASTIC VIDEO FROM THE SOUTHWEST MONTANA SAGEBRUSH PARTNERSHIP SHARES HOW LOW-TECH WET MEADOW RESTORATION WORKS
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Simple rock and brush structures, built along streams, can create wet meadows where wildlife and native plants can thrive. See for yourself how these low-cost structures can transform the land. This short video is brought to you by the Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership, a network of partners that includes federal and state land managers, nonprofits, local businesses, and landowners who are dedicated to the responsible stewardship of southwestern Montana's sagebrush sea.
Feeling inspired after watching the video? This on-demand webinar called "Low-Tech Wet Meadow Restoration: Reading the Landscape to Recognize Opportunities" is a great starting point for learning more about these simple and effective projects.
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New Songbird Habitat Study Unlocks Benefits for the Monarch Butterfly
IN THE EAST, WLFW HELPS PROTECT GOLDEN WINGED-WARBLERS AND MONARCHS
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A new study reveals that managing habitat for songbirds like the golden-winged warbler also benefits insect pollinators like the at-risk monarch butterfly.
The research shows that managing for early successional habitat offers benefits to both the golden-winged warbler and monarch butterfly. Managing for forest-age diversity improves the overall long-term health of forest communities and wildlife habitat. This research will help USDA strengthen conservation solutions for the Monarch butterfly and other pollinators.
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| High Country News Article Highlights Landscape Explorer
AUTHOR USES LANDSCAPE EXPLORER TO SEE THE PAST AND IMAGINE THE FUTURE
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The Landscape Explorer is a powerful online mapping tool that allows users to swipe between historical and modern aerial imagery anywhere across the West.
The platform, created by Scott Morford, a WLFW-affiliated researcher at the University of Montana, was originally conceived to highlight encroaching conifer trees in Montana, but as with many powerful and engaging technologies, people are using it in novel ways.
In this story from High Country News, the author uses the Landscape Explorer to see the past and imagine a future where developed, yet mostly abandoned, places are naturalized.
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In-Person Invasive Annual Grasses Field Workshop
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SIGN UP TODAY FOR THIS IN-PERSON WORKSHOP JULY 16-17 IN SHERIDAN, WYOMING
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There is still space for this two-day field and classroom workshop in Wyoming on July 16-17. The workshop is designed to take a more in depth look at how you can strategically plan for and manage invasive annual grasses (IAG). Participants will visit various sites including intact core areas and growth opportunity areas where we will discuss potential management approaches in each situation.
Participants will become familiar with different management practices and improve their capacity to determine which management tactics will best suite their needs in different situations.
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Conservation easements are one of the best tools for conserving working lands and the benefits they provide to communities, wildlife, and ecosystems. A new report from the Intermountain West Join Venture highlights several opportunities for the NRCS to accelerate program implementation without sacrificing program efficacy in both Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The recommendations come from two workshops hosted by the IWJV and the University of Wyoming in 2023 and 2024.
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Sage grouse are one of the most iconic species in the West. Yet few people get the chance to see them. This gorgeous video from Audubon Rockies provides arm-chair viewers the opportunity to see sage grouse in action on a lek. This footage is from a working cattle ranch, showing that with proper management, sage grouse and ranching can coexist.
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The Warner Mountains of southeastern Oregon have recently been recognized as a Dark Sky Sanctuary. These locations provide visitors and residents (and wildlife) with unparalleled opportunities to view the night sky unmarred by modern-day light pollution. Many of you may be familiar with the Warner Mountains through WLFW's long-term efforts to reduce conifer encroachment and benefit sage grouse and producers in this region.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $7 million to support the development of wetland mitigation banks for agricultural producers through the Wetland Mitigation Banking Program (WMBP). Through wetland mitigation banks, wetlands are restored, created or enhanced, generating credits that can be purchased by producers looking to compensate for unavoidable impacts to wetlands at another location. The funding is available to Tribes, government entities, nonprofits and other organizations. While several states are included in the program, WLFW encourages interested producers in Nebraska and South Dakota to learn more and apply.
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During a June 11th meeting of the Western Governors Association, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Western Governors’ Association, reestablishing the framework for cooperatively responding to the many challenges faced across western landscapes.
The MOU, signed on behalf of the USDA alongside Governors Brad Little of Idaho, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, and Mark Gordon of Wyoming, amplifies the scale of shared stewardship work between participating states and the USDA. It also fosters better integration of forest and rangeland health and wildfire risk reduction projects across different land ownerships.
At the same meeting, the Deputy Secretary also announced that the USDA is investing $66 million in conservation funding through the U.S. Forest Service and the USDA-NRCS.
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Working Lands for Wildlife is the 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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