Restoring Wet Meadows in Montana's Sagebrush Sea

In Montana, low-tech rock and brush structures are having a large-scale impact in restoring the Sagebrush Sea. The Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership, of which The Nature Conservancy is a part, is building these low-tech structures to create wet meadows that provide crucial forage for wildlife such as pronghorn, deer, elk and sage-grouse. Wet meadows capture rain and snow, replenishing groundwater supplies crucial for the Sagebrush Sea’s eight million human inhabitants across the American West.
We lose over one million acres of sagebrush habitat in the West each year to invasive species, expanding subdivisions, climate change and other impacts. In the face of this loss, wet meadows are increasingly important. The Southwest Montana Sagebrush Partnership is sharing how to build these cost-efficient rock structures, along with structures made of branches that mimic beaver dams, with local landowners and land managers.
Learn more and find out how you can be a part of conserving the Sagebrush Sea. Visit smsp.tnc.org.
Thanks to all the Southwest Montana Sagebrush Sea partners who make this work possible:
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
The Nature Conservancy
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
USFWS Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program
Heart of the Rockies Initiative
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Beaverhead Conservation District
Montana DNRC
Montana FWP
Youth Employment Program
Intermountain West Joint Venture
This video is based upon work supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement numbers [NR190325XXXXC002 and NR200325XXXXG002] and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Programs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services FAIN # [F19AP00154]. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this video are those of the producer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or its funding sources. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
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[@Conus426]

Great work. I've seen stuff like this really make biodiversity skyrocket

[@utahredrock1]

Love this. Excellent way to tell the story of this work.

[@strawberriebabieex3]

very well explained and presented. keep up the good work!

[@donnajoy6951]

😊

[@Cooljurassic_Conservation]

Reminds me of Mossy Earths projects, just not from a huge cash begging corporation that only relies on money and hype. Still good job!

[@lasseheims3117]

But why is this erosion starting to happen? Might not have listened enough but someone explain pls

[@MorganMghee]

Probably in the past ranchers decided it was too wet for their liking and created the ditches to drain the area for either crops or more likely grazing. A couple of decades later the running water in a constrained area resulted in erosion, which doesn't happen when the water spreads out and sinks in.

[@ingvar1996]

Drought also effects the amount of percipitation the soil can take up

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

When are you going to fix the land you destroyed in south eastern Minnesota?

[@Cooljurassic_Conservation]

What happened? I never heard of this...

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

@@Cooljurassic_Conservation 1,000 acres were bought up. The elderly widow envisioned bird watching trails. She was deeply shocked that you tore her old house down. This indicates that she had no idea what she'd signed up for when handing the land over to you. Then, once her farm and house was gone, you handed the land over to the DNR. It is now state land and is wide open to hunters. Neither her nor her late husband ever allowed any deer hunting on the land. The slaughter has been staggering. The DNR counted 44 cars there on opening day. That represents probably 120 to 160 hunters on 1,000 acres....none of whom know each other. That's an extremely dangerous situation. People from all over the state poured in and mowed the deer down. Every idiot, scumbag and law breaker who can't hunt anywhere else is here, blasting away. Dead and wounded deer were soon found all over my land. I don't like seeing three-legged deer on my farm. The land, the people and the animals were much better off before the Nature Conservancy got their hands on it.

[@Cooljurassic_Conservation]

@@JayBee-cr8jm Damn, is there a video I can see because just taking you word is not the best explanation and truth. Not that you are lying it’s just I want to see more of you are telling the truth

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

@@Cooljurassic_Conservation What exactly do you want a recording of? Should I go to local assisted living facility and interview a 100 year old woman? Should I interview the hundreds of hunters who no longer see any living deer on this former conservation (now state) land? Should I spend weeks walking my property and take photos of all the dead/wounded deer that have wandered off the former conservation land?

[@Cooljurassic_Conservation]

@@JayBee-cr8jm I mean like a YT video covering this topic because I can’t find any