Pretty Neat Article
This article is about a family in the Helena area who worked with DNRC, NRCS and the Conservation District on a cover crop project to help improve their soil health. It's a pretty great read!!! Dusenberry Project
Cheatgrass Management Seminar-2017
The Lewis and Clark Conservation District and the Lewis and Clark County Weed District are co-hosting a seminar on the management of “cheatgrass” on forage and range/pasture land. Lunch will be provided. Six RE-CERTIFICATION CREDITS WILL BE OFFERED FOR PRIVATE, COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT APPLICATORS. DATE: FEBRUARY 2, 2017 TIME: 9:00 AM TO 3:30 PM LOCATION: Helena Valley Community Center, 3553 Tizer Road PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: JANUARY 26, 2017 COST : $15 PER PERSON TOPICS will include: Management of cheatgrass on crop/hay land Management of cheatgrass on range/pasture Management of water and herbicides Management Opportunity – Soil Inoculation for cheatgrass SPEAKERS will include: Jane Mangold – MSU – Rangeland Susan Tallman—NRCS-- Forage Cecil Tharp – Water Quality and Herbicides - MSU Cheryl Swartzkopf— Soil Inoculant – Weed Suppressive Bacteria AGENDA: 9:00…
ACEP-WRE Sign up deadline!!!
Natural Resources Conservation Service runs the ACEP (Agricultural Conservation Easement Program). Landowners in Montana who may be interested in specifically the Wetland Reserve Easement program (WRE) need to be aware that the application deadline for this program is October 21, 2016. Easements can be another tool that landowners can use to keep their property working for them for the long-term. If you need more information in the program, you can check out the web page or contact the Helena Field Office at 406-449-5000 ext. 3.
Conservation Easement Workshop
The Lewis & Clark Conservation District would like to invite area landowners who may be interested in learning more about Conservation Easements to a Conservation Easement Workshop put on by Natural Resource Conservation Service and their partners. If you are interested in learning more about the workshop contact Abby Dresser at 406-544-6445 or by email at abby.dresser@mt.usda.gov. The Workshop will be held on August 17, 2016 at the US Forest Service Conference Room at 2880 Skyway Drive, Helena MT 59602 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. More information is available on the flyer.
Local Work Group Meeting
The next Local Work Group planning meeting will be following the Conservation District Board meeting on July 14, 2016. The meeting should begin around 10 a.m. and will take place in the Dearborn Community Center, Highway 434, outside of Wolf Creek Montana. The meeting notice can be found here. The goal of this meeting is review and make adjustments to the priority resource issues within the Local Work Group geographic area and to develop some criteria to assist the NRCS in ranking project applications. Anyone who is interested in resource concerns in Lewis & Clark County may attend and give feedback. See the map below for location information.
Sustainable Low Cost Crop – No More Over Grazing
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="597"] Photo By: Ashley Rivero[/caption] Over Grazing Solutions for Small to Large Landowners By: Ashley Rivero The discovery for us here at the Conservation District was during a stream permitting assessment on the Rocking Z Guest Ranch. The Rocking Z Guest Ranch along Wolf Creek, run by a ranching family since 1974, offer an innovative range of opportunities to horseback riders, vacations goers, internships, as well as ranching and conservation education with the full Montana experience. They offered to show us some of the environmentally friendly methods they have integrated into their daily operations and one that stuck out the most offers a potential solution to overgrazing problems. The focus of this article is to talk about the groundbreaking way they have discovered and successfully implemented a method to…
Women in Agriculture-An Oral History
There is a page on the Department of Natural Resources (State of Montana) web page that has a series of stories, "From the Ground Up, Montana Women and Agriculture". This is amazing group of stories told by women about their lives and ties to Montana agriculture. If you get an opportunity, please have a listen and enjoy the stories. Their stories can be found here. If you live in Lewis & Clark County and would like to tell your story, please contact the Conservation District and we can figure out a way to make that happen for you! I would love to see one--or better yet, MORE than one-- of "our people" on the list of oral histories.