March 2017 Film Screening to Explore Giants of Montana Land Conservation

March 2017 Film Screening to Explore Giants of Montana Land Conservation
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PLN News: March 2017

About the Private Landowner Network

Film Screening to Explore 'Giants" of Montana Land Conservation

Four decades after a small group of ranchers pioneered the use of a conservation tool that now shields millions of acres in Montana from development, a film screening at the Emerson Center this coming Tuesday will detail their efforts and legacy.

“On the Shoulders of Giants,” produced by Bozeman filmmaker Eric Ian and the Montana Association of Land Trusts, or MALT, was filmed to mark the 40th anniversary of the state’s first conservation easement, in the Blackfoot Valley east of Missoula. The film is expected to be available to the public online this July. Read more here.

For Many Farmers, Retirement is a Source of Dread

MASONVILLE, Iowa — Lavern Kelchen stood in the back of a church hall in jeans and a buffalo-check shirt, tapped his left index finger on his leg and placed the winning bid on a 156-acre farm here in eastern Iowa. It marked the seventh auction he had attended in the last five years and, with a bid of $9,000 an acre, his first win...

For farmers like Mr. Kelchen, whose work is a deep-seated lifestyle, retirement seems more like a sentence than a prize. “The first two days I’d probably be all right,” he said. “But after that, I’d be going haywire.” Read more here.

Thune Unveils New Farm Bill Conservation Proposal

Republican Senator John Thune, R-S.D., is introducing a measure which gives producers another conservation option as part of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Thune is introducing the Soil Health and Income Protection Program, also known as SHIPP. It’s a voluntary program tackling both soil health and farming of less-productive land.

It's similar to the Conservation Reserve Program, but with a shorter time commitment and a goal not to have a national cap on acreage. Read more here.

Coordinating the Largest Landscape Conservation Effort in the West

Photo: Tatiana Gettelman.

In the vast expanse of sagebrush country, sage grouse hopscotch between ranches and over state lines. But hopscotching across boundaries is far more difficult for the humans working to help those birds recover. Along with fences, legal challenges and bureaucratic barriers sometimes impede large-landscape conservation.

The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) helps overcome those challenges. Its Sagebrush Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) connects and coordinates conservation efforts across the 11 western states and 2 Canadian provinces where sage grouse live. Read more here.

Farm Conservation Funding on the Chopping Block

The Trump Administration has proposed cutting $4.7 billion, or 21 percent, of the U.S. agriculture budget. If made, those cuts will come from discretionary spending, which includes on-farm conservation funding—as well as food safety, rural development, and international food aid.

“Conservation programs and NRCS staff are the number-one investment USDA makes in our region,” said farmer Roger Noonan. “NRCS staff walk around the farm with you, point out things farmers can do to address water quality, soil quality, forest quality. And then direct you to resources that you can use to make positive changes on the land.” Learn more here.

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Photo: Trey Ratcliff

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USDA Offers Renewal Options for Expiring Conservation Stewardship Program Contracts

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2017 – Acting Deputy Agriculture Secretary Michael Young today announced that a contract renewal sign-up is underway for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), USDA’s largest working lands conservation program with more than 80 million acres enrolled. Learn more here.

USDA Awards $500k through New Behavioral Science Grant Program

“USDA provides incentives for farmers to adopt conservation practices, yet many farmers do not participate,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy.

“Projects funded by these grants will give us greater insight on why farmers adopt conservation practices and help us more effectively target limited resources for these conservation incentives.” Read more here.

The Prairie Burns

Photo: Bo Rader, The Wichita Eagle.

Wildfires in northwest Oklahoma leave some wondering about the health of wildlife in the region. Read more here.