Market-Based Stewardship of Important Bird Areas in Montana
LOCATION:
, MT
ORGANIZATION:
Montana Audubon
GRANT AMOUNT:
$5,000.00
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN PROJECT
Making a living as a rancher is not the same as it used to be. With a TogetherGreen Innovation Grant, Montana Audubon wants to provide ranchers with financial incentives to encourage the stewardship of their land with wildlife in mind.
Montana is home to two highly important ecosystems: sage-steppe and cottonwood-willow riparian habitat. The highly threatened Greater Sage Grouse and Brewer’s Sparrow rely on sage-steppe for survival. Cottonwood-willow forest covers only one percent of Montana’s landscape, but provides breeding habitat for more than half of Montana’s nesting birds. Unfortunately, both habitats are sometimes threatened by excessive livestock grazing.
Over the course of the next year, Montana Audubon will work in partnership with the Western Sustainability Exchange to launch a pilot project with two main objectives. First, to identify critical areas in need of protection and determine how best to monitor the effects of improved ranching practices on habitat quality. Second, to identify three ranchers interested in partnering with Montana Audubon and the Western Sustainability Exchange to take part in the pilot, help them find reliable markets for their “sustainably-produced” Montana beef, and help them enter into agreements with buyers to pay a premium for that beef.
While Montana Audubon is starting small, their aspirations are much larger as they aim to turn the project into a replicable, regional success story.