Collaborative Land Stewardship (CLS) fosters ecologically and economically sound management practices to help landowners reach rangeland condition and habitat goals.
- Are you a landowner interested in promoting healthy grasslands and riparian areas?
- Are you a rancher in need of additional pasture and making your operation more profitable?
- Are you a host to wildlife seeking habitat improvement and management options?
- Are you a water rights-holder wondering if you can increase supply via conservation?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, please consider becoming involved in the Collaborative Land Stewardship Program, a cooperative effort of The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group and Artemis Common Ground. For more information, follow the links at the left, call Abigail Breuer at 406-682-3350 or stop by the MVRG office to pick up a brochure.
Any Madison Valley Landowner. CLS supports projects that involve two or more landowners in a stewardship activity to enhance the biologically healthy open spaces that benefit all residents and are essential to ranching. We welcome your project ideas!
Program Objectives
- Improve communication among ranchers, landowners, conservation organizations and public resource agencies.
- Sustain the ranch community through development of innovative grazing opportunities
- Build working partnerships among landowners, conservation organizations and public resource agencies to facilitate shared wildlife, livestock, and, where appropriate, recreational uses of rangelands.
- Enact sound land stewardship practices that optimize forage for livestock and wildlife.
- Utilize natural boundaries to effect sound land management strategies.
- Encourage use of conservation practices in range management to benefit native plant communities, protect riparian areas and enhance wildlife habitat.
Project Design, Inventory, And Monitoring
CLS staff work with participating landowners to help define property management goals. Together, we carry out an inventory of resource use and condition that helps landowners make sound management decisions.
CLS staff assist landowners with design of management practices and monitoring to achieve the CLS Stewardship Standards.
Landowners involved in multi-year projects develop a Land Stewardship Plan. Each plan includes:
- Goal Statement
- Resource Inventory
- Activity and monitoring plans
The CLS Range Advisory Panel reviews each plan.
Cost
Participating landowners pay $10 per hour1 for time spent by CLS staff in project planning, resource inventory, and monitoring. Projects geared exclusively to restore ecosystem function are conducted without charge.
1 - The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group has the discretion to modify this figure on a case by case basis
The Collaborative Land Stewardship Program encourages the use of conservation practices in range management to benefit native plant communities, protect riparian areas and enhance wildlife habitat. The Stewardship Standards that follow are goals which landowners involved in the program work to achieve.
Soils, Hydrology, and Water Quality
- Achieve soil stability, minimal surface runoff, and adequate water infiltration for desired plant standards.
- Meet applicable water quality standards.
Riparian and Wetland Condition
- Achieve riparian areas and wetlands that are in, or trending toward, properly functioning condition.
Upland Condition
- Achieve healthy and desirable plant communities.
- Employ agricultural practices that maintain or enhance the soil-water-plant matrix.
Fish and Wildlife Habitat
- Maintain or enhance habitats capable or sustaining viable populations of native plant and animal species.
CLS operates under the guidance of a Range Advisory Panel (RAP) made up of interested range specialists from public agencies and conservation organizations, as well as representatives of the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group. Range Advisory Panel member participation in the effort is based on a core CLS commitment to develop projects that benefit the wildlife and habitat conservation objectives of member organizations.
Range Advisory Panel Members 2002
- Bob Sitz. RAP Chair. MVRG Board member. Harrison rancher.
- Kurt Alt. Wildlife Biologist. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
- Pat Byorth. Fisheries Biologist. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
- Gary Clark. MVRG Board member. Jeffers rancher.
- John Crumley. MVRG Board President. McAllister rancher.
- Randy Gazda. Partners for Wildlife. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Jeff Mosley. MSU Rangeland Specialist.
- Max Robison. MVRG Board member. McAllister rancher.
- Julie Sacks. District Conservationist. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
- Ron Schott. Resource Assistant. U.S. Forest Service
Montana State Chair, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
- John Wilson. Conservation Director. Trout Unlimited.