PPJV

The Meadowlark Initiative is a new statewide strategy initiated by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, tapping into the collective insights, resources, and efforts of conservation, agriculture, and industry partners to enhance, restore, and sustain native grasslands in North Dakota.

Rangelands are being lost at an alarming rate – more than a million acres lost annually. Grazing by livestock is the common thread that maintains these working rangelands at an ecosystem scale. As a result, successful conservation relies on working with landowners and ranchers to improve working rangelands to benefit wildlife and the communities that rely on this land and have stewarded them for generations.

This summer, an effort between conservation organizations and Blaine County ranchers at the Louie Petrie Ranch north of Turner, Montana offered two days of hands-on learning, practical ranch work, and collaboration to benefit ranching and pronghorn migration in the region.

The North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition (NDGLC) mentoring program provides a network of producer mentors who are available to share knowledge with other producers in areas including, but not limited to, grazing management, water development, wildlife management, cover crops, fencing, value of crop aftermath grazing, cutting winter feed costs, and profitable ranch management. Mentors offer … Read more

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever announced a historic effort in February to protect and conserve North America’s upland habitats by launching its first comprehensive, $500 million Call of the Uplands® National Campaign. The bold plan encompasses habitat conservation, education & outreach, and national advocacy strategies to conserve 9 million acres, engage 1.5 million outdoor participants, … Read more

The State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practice within the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is an innovative approach which allows state fish and wildlife agencies, along with their federal and NGO partners, to define priority species and landscapes for practice delivery. North Dakota has several designated SAFE projects, but among the most relevant to the … Read more

2020 was a spectacular year for Montana Ducks Unlimited (DU) given the operational hurdles faced throughout the year. Montana DU kept the bar high with record-breaking fundraising dollars, technical assistance acres, and protected acres. With the help of private landowners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and … Read more

In November 2020, Audubon Dakota and partners initiated the North Dakota Conservation Forage Program (CFP) with a $6.9 million grant award from the North Dakota Industrial Commission Outdoor Heritage Fund. This grant is the largest investment in the fund’s history. The CFP will support private landowners in converting up to 25,000 acres of cropland back … Read more

As an “all bird” Joint Venture, the PPJV is committed to addressing the conservation needs of all avian species that use the region. This is a daunting task given the diversity of bird species, landscapes, and variability in our understanding of limiting factors for many species. However, grassland and wetland habitat loss are generally recognized … Read more

Recent efforts spotlighting the crisis of grassland loss and grassland bird population declines have energized partnership-based conservation work across the Great Plains. Over the past year, several new international grassland conservation initiatives were launched including the JV8 Central Grasslands Initiative, the Central Grasslands Roadmap, and the Road to Recovery, an initiative to bring back 3 … Read more

Josh began working as the Science Coordinator for the PPJV in January this year. While Josh may be new to the PPJV partnership, he has extensive experience working with Joint Ventures. Prior to joining the PPJV, Josh served as the Science Coordinator for the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) for 10 years. While there, much … Read more

U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs in the Prairie Pothole Region are critical for the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV) to achieve our shared goals and objectives identified in the 2017 Implementation Plan and our state-level step down plans. A new agreement between the PPJV and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) paves the way … Read more