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IWJV Featured in “On the Ground” Podcast
The IWJV’s Partnering to Conserve Sagebrush Rangelands is featured in a new episode of the Bureau of Bureau of Land Management’s podcast, On the Ground. Listen here!: The episode interviews Grace Hershberg and Ethan Kalinowski. These two members of the IWJV’s Sage Capacity Team are stationed in different corners of Montana to facilitate ecological restoration…
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Field Notes: Uniting for Conservation
Grace Hershberg Field Notes is a compilation of first-person essays composed across many years by IWJV partners, board members, and staff. Our professional work in collaborative conservation is inspired by our personal experiences, relationships, and conversations in the field. That “field” can look very different depending on the work at hand: Sometimes it is one…
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The Small Grants Getting Wetland Conservation on the Ground in the West in a Big Way
NAWCA, or the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, was passed in 1989 to protect, restore, and enhance wetland habitats for birds. The NAWCA program provides matching grants to wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For more information, check out the NAWCA website. One day, Liam O’Connor might be found reseeding a…
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A Look at the Montana Groundwater Investigation Program
Q&A with Jenna Dohman, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology Hydrogeologist Jenna Dohman’s work with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology’s Montana Ground Water Investigation Program includes a groundwater monitoring project on the Big Hole River, where most private land agricultural irrigation involves flood-irrigating grass hay. Dohman is measuring surface water at 16 sites…
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Shoring Up the Banks on Nevada Creek
Decades of restoration are accumulating to keep a key tributary to Montana’s Blackfoot River functioning for ranchers and native trout. On a late August morning, Ryen Neudecker and Brent Mannix watch water drip out of a seep above a lazy section of Nevada Creek. The creek’s waters are languid as it runs underneath a thick…
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Finding Balance with Fire in Montana’s Sagebrush Country
Low-intensity fire has kept ecosystems in southwest Montana in balance for thousands of years. The Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership is working to maintain that balance. ✦ ✦ ✦ In June, the spider web of mountains and valleys that traverse Beaverhead County in southwest Montana are in a full bloom of wildflowers. In this high, cold…
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Spring in Photos: Wildflower Season in Southwest Montana
Record-breaking snowpack across the Western states brought a burst of water to drought-stricken landscapes in the spring of 2023. While on assignment in southwest Montana in May and June, the IWJV team documented the spectacular profusion of wildflowers brought on by this spring’s hydrating snowmelt. Click each photo below to enjoy the rainbow of biodiversity…
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Partners in North Central Montana Leverage RCPP for Conservation
“This is doing it.” “This is an opportunity for us to be working together and talking about both sides of the issues, and coming to consensus and getting something done. This is doing it. I love it.“ Rich Roth, IX Ranch On a bright May afternoon, Rich Roth lifts his gaze from the gleaming water…
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Conserving the Ocean of Grass and Sage
When asked to describe her favorite aspects of Phillips County in north-central Montana, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologist Marisa Sather took a moment to collect her impressions. “You obviously hear and feel the wind,” she said. “It’s always windy in Montana. And you just hear life all around you. It takes you a…
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A Hub for Conservation and Ranching on Montana’s North-Central Plains
Providing livestock with consistent water is often one of the biggest challenges faced by ranchers in the West. Opportunities to do so are thin on the ground and become even thinner throughout the summer, especially in a drought year like the one experienced in north-central Montana in 2021. Tyrel Obrecht, who operates the Louie Petrie…
