Montana

American Bird Conservancy
Leveraging Grassland Conservation for Birds and Rangeland Resiliency (MT, ND, SD, WY)
Increase the impact of Working Lands for Wildlife initiatives for Greater Sage-grouse and the Northern Plains Grassland in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Project will provide technical assistance and planning to improve management on at least 15,500 acres, while fostering landowner trust and interest in grassland conservation, to ultimately provide more high-quality habitat and build rangeland resiliency.
$205,095

Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Department
Improving Habitat Quality in Western Big Game and Migration Corridors Across the Blackfeet Nation (MT)
Address habitat connectivity on the Blackfeet Nation through removal and upgrade of fences, reduction of animal-vehicle collisions along key sections of highway, and improvement of habitat through control of invasive species. Project will provide capacity and educational opportunities to improve habitat management and fenceline modifications on 26,000 acres of tribal lands.
$171,568

Clark Fork Coalition
Restoring Urban Grant Creek (MT)
Restore habitat connectivity for cutthroat trout in western Montana by engaging 140 volunteers to reforest 2 acres of riparian land, plant 300 trees, and remove invasive species. Project will utilize best management practices to manage stormwater runoff, implement water quality monitoring at four sites, remove 150 pounds of trash and reach 100 people.
$36,987

Clark Fork Coalition
Water Transaction Development in the Clark Fork River Basin (MT)
Identify, implement and monitor water transactions in the Clark Fork basin of Montana. Project will improve stream flows and aquatic habitat conditions for native trout.
$184,640

Ducks Unlimited
Supporting Climate Resilient Habitats and Increasing Grassland Carbon Sequestration (MT, ND, SD, WY)
Provide technical assistance and incentives for on-the-ground conservation projects on private lands through the Northern Grassland Incentives Program which offers landowners financial assistance to voluntarily restore and enhance native grasslands, shrublands and mesic habitats. Project will improve or restore nearly 10,000 acres to help build rangelands that are resilient to climate change, drought, and invasive species, and which have improved capabilities to sequester carbon.
$296,988

Five Valleys Land Trust
Permanently Protecting Migratory Bird Stopover and Breeding Habitat on Rocking Chair Ranch (MT)
Permanently protect Rocking Chair Ranch in the Flint Creek Valley of western Montana through a conservation easement to conserve breeding and stopover habitat for a variety of bird and wildlife species and safeguard a critical wildlife movement corridor between the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Project will place more than 1,801 acres under conservation easement to benefit wildlife and sustain the rural heritage of the valley.
$75,000

Fort Belknap Indian Community
Improving Habitat and Plague Mitigation for Black-Footed Ferrets on the Fort Belknap Reservation (MT)
Increase the Fort Belknap black-footed ferret population from 17 to 30 breeding adults to meet federal delisting criteria and contribute to the removal of the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Project will scale up annual sylvatic plague mitigation in ferrets and their prairie dog prey, ferret population surveys, and reintroductions on the Reservation.
$191,874

Montana Audubon Society
Restoring Grassland Habitat on Private Working Lands through Audubon Conservation Ranching (MT, WY)
Provide capacity and technical assistance to increase landowner enrollment in the Audubon Conservation Ranching program which increase climate resilience and system health in grassland habitats through individualized improved grazing management plans. Project will improve management technical plans on approximately 25,000 acres of private and privately managed grassland habitats and enroll an additional 300,000 acres.
$488,017

Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
Support for Water Transfers to Instream Flows (MT)
Assist organizations developing water transactions with review and coordination of project proposals. Project will efficiently process instream flow water right change applications to legally protect instream water acquired through water right transactions.
$47,786

Montana Land Reliance
Increasing Capacity to Facilitate Conservation Easements on Private Lands Grassland Habitat (MT)
Increase capacity for a Eastern Manager position to identify conservation easement opportunities in Montana’s Northern Great Plains, work directly with landowners to answer questions, negotiate easement terms and guide easement donors through the process. Project will secure 50,000 acres under easements through this coordinator to protect vulnerable prairie landscapes, sagebrush habitat, and threatened species, including the greater sage grouse, pronghorn, and migratory bird species.
$150,000

Montana Land Reliance
Protecting Private Grassland Rangeland Habitat through Conservation Easements in Rosebud County (MT)
Permanently protect two multi-generation private working ranches in Rosebud County, Montana through conservation easements to benefit the greater sage grouse and ensure the area remains intact and available for wildlife habitat. Project will protect the high quality grassland habitat in to row crop agriculture in perpetuity.
$421,058

Mule Deer Foundation
Improving Conservation Coordination and Implementation in the Dakota Grasslands (MT, ND, SD, WY)
Increase capacity for a habitat partnership coordinator to be the key position for increasing the capacity to identify, plan, coordinate and implement conservation projects that restore key habitats in the Dakota Grassland region. Project will improve derelict fencing to wildlife-friendly specifications, restore sage-grouse habitat through invasive species treatments, improve mesic habitat hydrology through seedyk structures and improve rangelands through modified grazing plans.
$364,717

National Wildlife Federation
Restoring Mesic and Wet Meadow Habitat in the Missouri-Milk River Grasslands (MT)
Provide a replicable model for watershed-scale mesic, wet meadow, and riverscape restoration through a comprehensive assessment and prioritization of public and private lands in the Willow North Watershed in the Milk River basin, Montana. Project will restore 13 acres of mesic habitat hydrology by installing Zeedyk and beaver dam analog structures to benefit greater sage-grouse and other species.
$78,942

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
Increasing Climate Resilience for Grassland Habitats and Ranching Communities (MT)
Improve soil health, hydrology and carbon storage through improved grazing management practices in north-central Montana to increase climate resilience and benefit wildlife species. Project will target ranches operating on perennial rangelands and develop infrastructure to disincentivize land use conversion and associated losses to wildlife and soil carbon to improve 10,000 acres of habitat.
$381,075

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
Expanding the Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert Motus Network to Inform Migratory Bird Conservation (multiple states)
Expand efforts to build a network of automated radio telemetry stations (Motus) throughout the Great Plains and Chihuahuan Desert that will help fill demographic knowledge gaps, characterize stop-over and migratory connectivity, and strategically inform full annual cycle habitat conservation for steeply declining grassland birds. Project will install 10 new Motus stations and deploy bird tags to inform future conservation delivery for grassland birds.
$250,000

The Blackfoot Challenge
Restoring Grassland Habitat by Removing Woody Invasives in the Blackfoot River Watershed (MT)
Restore intermountain grasslands in the Helmville Valley through the removal of invasive Rocky Mountain juniper and Douglas-fir trees. Project will increase desirable plant productivity and health, provide additional forage for livestock and wildlife, improve hydrologic functions, and revitalize an important stronghold for Brewer’s sparrows, trumpeter swans, and many other bird species.
$74,149

The Nature Conservancy
Increasing Climate Resilience through Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (MT)
Build on past success to expand the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances program for grassland birds and greater sage-grouse and implement habitat conservation activities that will help to retain the ecological integrity of climate-resilient grassland habitat in Montana. Project will place 360 acres under conservation easement, restore 20 acres of mesic habitat hydrology with Zeedyk structures, modify 14 miles of fencing and improve grazing management on 50,000 acres.
$299,716

The Trust for Public Land
Conserve Habitat in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (MT)
Permanently protect 88,428 acres of riparian, wetland and forest habitat in Lincoln, Flathead, and Sanders Counties, Montana that supports 46 federally listed species including redband trout, hoary bat, northern goshawk, and northern alligator lizard. Project will provide habitat connectivity between existing protected areas.
$600,000

Trout Unlimited
Restoring Instream Flow in the Upper Clark Fork Basin (MT)
Develop water right leases and transactions that work to augment streamflow and critical habitat for native trout species, including bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, throughout the Clark Fork River basin, Blackfoot River and Bitterroot River subbasins. Project will reconnect key tributaries to their mainstems and restore chronically dewatered stream reaches.
$126,001

World Wildlife Fund
Expanding Regenerative Grazing (MT)
Engage ranchers in the Prairie Pothole region of Montana to facilitate regenerative grazing practices that improve soil organic carbon and wildlife habitat. Project will enhance grassland condition through application of wildlife-friendly grazing practices and infrastructure on 75,000 acres of nesting habitat for grassland birds and waterfowl.
$258,839