Keep up with the latest news on bird and habitat conservation efforts across the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture!
Jacquie joined the PPJV in March as the Science Integration Specialist, a new position that was made possible through a partnership with Montana NRCS. The goals of her position will be to support and work with the NRCS District Conservationists in Montana and enhance partnership building for migratory bird habitat conservation and agricultural producers across
Iowa and Minnesota’s Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) once featured a mosaic of grassland and wetland habitats which supported a vast array of wildlife. Over the last century, potholes and adjacent uplands within the PPR of these states have largely been replaced with vast expanses of cropland dominated by corn and soybean production. Multiple studies have
Even as Old Man Winter stubbornly holds his icy grip on the Northern Great Plains, the cheery chortle of the Western meadowlark heralds with enthusiastic exuberance and absolute certainty, the arrival of another prairie spring. Greeting the return of this well-known, yellow-clad crooner to its fence post podiums across North Dakota’s landscape is a broad
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).
The North Dakota Conservation Forage Program (CFP) launched in the spring of 2021 supported by a $6.9 million North Dakota Industrial Commission Outdoor Heritage Fund grant, the largest awarded by the Commission. The CFP will support private landowners in converting up to 18,000 acres of cropland back to native grass while facilitating the adoption of
USDA updated Conservation Reserve Program rental rates on January 31st, 2022. Now is the time to contact your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office or Pheasants Forever Habitat Advisor to learn about the multiple options available to increase the profitability of your marginal cropland while improving water quality, reducing soil erosion, and creating wildlife habitat
For hundreds of years, buffalo grazed the Northern Great Plains, moving from location to location to mob graze without returning for an extended period of time. Today, grassland managers are working to replicate this natural cycle to promote soil health. The integration of livestock onto these working lands through regenerative practices improves soil health, increases
Throughout the PPJV, retirements of the “boomer generation” have left behind big losses in capabilities. With an eye on the future, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) filled five vacated positions with talented early-career Research Scientists. Each of these scientists served as Post-Doctoral researchers at NPWRC before they were hired in
Providing livestock with consistent water is often one of the biggest challenges faced by ranchers in the West. Opportunities to do so are thin on the ground and become even thinner throughout the summer, especially in a drought year like the one experienced in north-central Montana in 2021. Tyrel Obrecht, who operates the Louie Petrie
Increased soil health in the Prairie Pothole Region enhances the management of water in a landscape that is prone to both drought and flooding. Promoting practices that benefit soil health (e.g., increased perennial species, reduced tillage, increased crop diversity, cover crop utilization, and livestock integration) increases diversity on the landscape, reduces crop input requirements like
There is an increasing number of wind farm proposals and projects under construction in east and central Montana. In the state, we have an abundance of wildlife resources that are critical to the high quality of life (and state revenue) for residents and visitors. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (FWP) is the state agency charged
Given the federal administration’s current focus on tackling the climate crisis through development of clean energy technology instead of high-carbon investments, the number of new wind and solar facilities across the Prairie Pothole Region is likely to increase in the near future. However, these types of facilities have large land footprints, and information about potential
