Whitney
On a bright morning at Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, 4-H explorers traded classroom desks for prairie wetlands and textbooks for ducks. Alongside refuge staff and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET), they discovered that science is not only something to read about; it’s a way to understand the lands … Read more
Shaun is a Farm Bill Biologist III for Pheasants Forever (PF) working with landowners across the northeastern portion of Montana, known as the Hi-Line. Our first “People of the Partnership” recognition, the PPJV would like to say: Thank you, Shaun, for all of the hard work you’ve done for grassland conservation! I enjoy working with … Read more
Key takeaway: Duck productivity depends on fluctuating wetlands. The wet-dry phases of a prairie wetland act like a reset button, helping to recycle nutrients, grow plants, produce insects, and create the food and cover ducks need to survive. Wet-dry rhythms supercharge wetland productivity: Drying and refilling phases help create the food and cover ducklings need. … Read more
South Dakota Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) biologist Steve Spawn recently headed to the field, not to meet with a private landowner, but to provide hands-on wetland restoration training to habitat technicians and a group of Student Conservation Association interns working for the Madison Wetland Management District in Madison, SD. During the field day, … Read more
The South Dakota Grasslands Initiative (SDGI) is a communication and collaboration hub launched by the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition and its partners to bring together a diverse audience in support of South Dakota’s grasslands. One way this collaboration occurs is through workgroups, consisting of professionals and community members who share a passion for a specific … Read more
The North Dakota Conservation Forage Program (CFP) has become a practical model for how collaborative conservation can restore working lands across the Northern Great Plains. At its core, the program helps producers plant and manage high quality perennial grasslands that support both livestock operations and wildlife habitat. Grassland birds like the Bobolink and Grasshopper Sparrow … Read more
Pheasants Forever launched the Montana Grassland Initiative (MGI) in July of 2023 to strategically address threats to Montana’s grasslands and ensure the Montana upland experience lasts forever. Rooted in the best available science through the grassland road-map and sagebrush conservation design, the five-year initiative sets ambitious goals to impact 1.5 million acres of grassland by … Read more
Across the Prairie Pothole Region, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) works with partners, agencies and landowners to restore prairies, wetlands and working lands that support wildlife and communities. “Spanning multiple states and a mix of land ownership, communities and funding sources, conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region can’t happen alone,” said Rachel Bush, TNC’s grassland strategy … Read more
The mission of the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition (NDGLC) is to improve stewardship by providing education and technical assistance to producers regarding regenerative and profitable grazing management and building conservation awareness by educating citizens and policymakers. As part of this mission, the Coalition launched “Grazing Logic,” a series of grazing education events co-hosted with … Read more
Small wetland conservation continues to be a cornerstone priority of Delta Waterfowl. From 1997 to 2009, an alarming 125,400 acres of wetlands disappeared across the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in the United States. Most of those wetlands were small, shallow wetlands in crop fields, lost to drainage to grow grain. And since 2009, wetland loss … Read more
In September, high school students from North Valley Career and Technology Center swapped the classroom for the country, making a special trip to South Branch Bison Ranch near Grafton, North Dakota. There they explored the lush prairie, collecting seed heads, grasses, plants and soil. What they gathered became art. With the help of a professional … Read more
Caleb Caton and Matt Hubers — Ducks Unlimited (DU) agronomists — pull up to Chris and ReEtta Sieh’s farm in north-central South Dakota’s McPherson County, walk through an immaculately well-organized shop to a corner office where Chris greets them, followed by the smell of lasagna and freshly brewed coffee. The Siehs operate thousands of acres … Read more