Portions of north-central and southwest Montana have been identified as core sagebrush landscapes worthy of protection to enable their long-term sustainability, as well as the native wildlife species that utilize the landscapes.
Reptiles like this bull snake are some of the creatures that favor sagebrush ecosystems.
These sagebrush seas are home to greater sage grouse, pronghorn, mule deer and migratory songbirds. In addition to sagebrush, the regions contain bunchgrasses and wildflowers that together support thousands of animals, including burrowing owls, pygmy rabbits and mountain lions.
Once covering 500,000 square miles across the Dakotas and into California, a 2022 U.S. Geological Survey report found an average of 1.3 million acres of sagebrush lands have been lost or degraded each year over the last 20 years.
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“As hunters continue to see and feel the loss of sagebrush habitat, this announcement by the Department of the Interior is an encouraging commitment to conserve and restore one of North America’s most imperiled ecosystems,” said Kaden McArthur, of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, in a statement. “Improving the quality of sagebrush habitat will improve the future for upland and big game species alike, which depend on these lands across the West.”
Much of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge surrounding Fort Peck Reservoir, shown here in February 2021, is included in a core sagebrush area targeted for conservation work.
Keystone initiative
To help ensure their preservation, the Department of Interior’s Sagebrush Keystone Initiative is directing $7 million to 12 projects spread across 175 million acres in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Together, the landscapes spread across the seven states account for about one-third of all the remaining sagebrush core habitat in the United States.
“These new designations cover ‘the best of the best’ of the biome where sage grouse still thrive, endemic fish spawn, and pronghorn migrations pass for hundreds of miles,” said Matt Cahill, Sagebrush Sea Program director for the Nature Conservancy, in a statement.
The sagebrush investments are just a portion of the $157 million the Biden administration is investing in restoration of the nation’s lands and waters through locally led projects, the Department of Interior announced earlier this month.
Over five years, the total investment overseen by Interior will add up to $2 billion. Other “keystone conservation initiatives” include restoration of salt marches, habitat for salmon, bison and Hawaiian forest birds and restoring native plant communities through a seed supply chain and by eradicating invasive species.
“At a time when tackling the climate and biodiversity crises could not be more critical, these investments in clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, cultural resources and open spaces will benefit people, wildlife and local economies for generations to come,” said Deb Haaland, secretary of Interior.
Pronghorns move across large distances as they migrate between seasonal habitats. Providing passage by building wildlife-friendly fences is one of the investments being made by north-central Montana ranchers.
North-central
In north-central Montana, the core area surrounds the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, stretching north to Glasgow, west to Malta and beyond. A portion of the area ties into the Bureau of Land Management’s Hi-Line Sagebrush Anchor Restoration Landscape.
“We know that this ecosystem has been stressed in recent years from invasive species, drought, catastrophic wildfire, and development,” said David Willms, associate vice president of public lands at the National Wildlife Federation.
For fiscal year 2024, $1 million is being distributed by the BLM across the region.
“Resilient landscapes are our best natural defenses against climate change,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning. “As we continue to see unprecedented wildfire, plants blooming uncharacteristically at different times of the year, warmer waters in our streams, and more, these investments are critical to providing clean water, reliable habitat, and resilience to wildfire for future generations.”
In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is providing $187,614 to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, a Montana-based, rancher-led conservation group.
“The goal of this collaboration is to retain long-term grassland cover on over 14,000 acres in Montana that are highly vulnerable to being converted to cropland,” said Laura Jenkins, assistant regional director of the USFWS, in an email.
So far, the agency has committed more than $587,000 to the work
“These areas were previously cropland, have been revegetated, and will now be transitioned to long-term managed perennial grazing systems across some of the most intact remaining core grasslands in the country,” Jenkins said. “Many of these are owned and operated by young and beginning ranchers who otherwise might be at a disadvantage in finding opportunities for grazing.”
At the end of 2022, the alliance had built more than 60 miles of wildlife friendly fence, restored 4,500 acres to perennial habitat and native grasses and laid almost 200,000 feet of water pipeline.
Southwest, Wyoming
This map shows the core sagebrush areas identified by the U.S. Geological Survey across the west and specifically in north-central Montana.
In addition to ranchers, the funding is directed at collaboration with state and local leaders, tribes, conservation and sportsmen organizations, the outdoor recreation economy and private landowners, according to the Department of Interior.
In southwest Montana, the sagebrush core area covers much of Beaverhead County around Dillon and extends into southeastern Idaho. The area includes portions of four BLM Restoration Landscapes.
In Wyoming, 7.9 million acres of core sagebrush habitat has been identified west of Casper into the upper Green River and Bear River watersheds, portions of the Red Desert and extending south of Interstate 80 along the Colorado border and into a portion of northeastern Utah.
Two sagebrush projects in the state will receive $1.35 million in funding.
“This is wonderful news for a landscape that is so ecologically important and yet obviously struggling,” said Sara Brodnax, director of public lands policy at the National Audubon Society.
A Great Plains toad and its tadpole are adapted to the dry regions of north-central Montana.
Public support
A recent poll surveying voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, found 67% are worried about the future of land, water and wildlife. The information is included in Colorado College’s 14th annual State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll.
In Montana, the poll found 67% of voters prefer their congressional representatives place more emphasis on ensuring protection for sources of clean water, air quality, and wildlife habitats while providing opportunities to visit and recreate on public lands in upcoming decisions.
“There may be a lot that divides voters across the country, but in Montana, there is nearly universal consensus in favor of conservation,” said Katrina Miller-Stevens, director of the State of the Rockies Project and an associate professor at Colorado College. “Not only do voters prefer conservation when asked how public lands and water should be utilized, but issues involving water, air, land and wildlife are top of mind when they make their voting decisions.”
The full survey and individual state surveys are available on the State of the Rockies Project website.
