Potential for common ground

Guest post by student Maya Fink - 

The first section of the summer 2023 prairie ecology CI looked at different perspectives on wildlife restoration. After spending a night on the ranch in Roundup, we packed up our bags and headed to the Matador Symposium where we heard from graduate students on their research and organizations focused on helping ranchers and towns in Montana. The next few days focused more on wildlife research and highlighted the differences and controversies between ranchers, reservations, and the American Prairie Reserve.

The Matador Symposium was held on the Matador Ranch which was rich with “cowboy” history we discussed during the spring semester, and is now a cattle ranch owned by The Nature Conservancy. The day consisted of several talks interrupted by food and breaks to pet dogs and a kitten. It was interesting to hear the wildlife research going on at the Fort Belknap Reservation and the efforts of organizations aimed at helping ranchers. We wrapped up the day by talking to a rancher and employees of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance. We discussed with Leo, the rancher, his cattle operation and the struggles that ranchers face with succession planning for the ranch itself in order for the ranch and the ranching lifestyle to continue into the future. It was hard to fathom how generations of ranchers can potentially disappear without a clear succession. The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance spoke to their efforts to find funds for proposed programs to continue the rancher legacy and the employees discussed their track to reach their current position. Leaving the symposium and heading to our campsite for the next three nights, I had a lot of different thoughts floating around in my head; mostly the fact that the “b-word” - bison - was not mentioned once and the neutral or negative attitudes towards prairie dogs. We set up our tents and settled for the night in camping luxury despite the wind and mosquitoes.

The next day we got up early and headed for the Fort Belknap Reservation to look for horned lark and chestnut collared longspur nests on and near a prairie dog town. We had heard about this research the previous day at the Matador Symposium when the graduate student, Andrew, presented. We talked and walked (carefully) towards known nest locations testing our vision to find tiny eggs and hatchlings. We even flushed a bird later and Andrew and his advisor found a new nest! Andrew was clearly passionate about birds with the way he spoke and it was nice to hear a positive attitude towards prairie dogs. It was surprising to hear the ranchers view on prairie dogs the day before and seeing a completely different viewpoint where prairie dogs are even beneficial to the prairie ecosystem. Another graduate student, Dana, met us at the site to take us to eat lunch beside the Fort Belknap bison and then search for swift fox dens. Dana really solidified the difference between ranchers and the reservation as we looked out at the magnificent herd of bison and spent the entire day on the Fort Belknap Reservation where most of the wildlife research in the area was happening. It was difficult to understand the breakdown where a Native American reservation focused limited resources on wildlife restoration and research, and ranchers seemed to support things like pronghorn-friendly fencing but avoided even mentioning the essential wildlife needed for a functioning prairie ecosystem on which ranching was built. We often talk about ranchers in terms of “5 generations of ranchers have worked the land” but neglect the understanding of far more generations of Native Americans on the land. Where one rancher tolerated prairie dogs only on “unusable land”, the reservation had their cattle actively grazing on a prairie dog town. When we got back to camp and fixed the wind-blown tents we had a lot to think about in terms of ranchers and reservations. Before we ate, however, we were introduced to another aspect of the prairie - the American Prairie Reserve.

I had spent the spring semester in another class modeling the American Prairie bison population under different harvest scenarios so hearing from Damien with APR was something I was really looking forward to. It seemed that the controversies surrounding APR were largely the result of a communication problem that now pins American Prairie against ranchers in Montana. The science and testing and mission at American Prairie was solid in many aspects so understanding why landowners post signs like “save the cowboy stop American Prairie” was difficult. Being on the outside looking in is more frustrating than anything; there is a clear lack of communication on all sides when there is potential for common ground. The Montana politics and history of ranchers and Native Americans create a convoluted story of past and present in which we become so planted in our ways and dig our heels into the ground when something comes along that might change that; even if there is a chance it might change things for the better.

The next day started early again when we revisited the Fort Belknap Reservation with Nancy, a PhD student to capture pipits for her study. It was exciting to actively track down pipits and set up the mistnets. We were fooled into thinking it was easy to call down pipits into the net when the first bird was caught within a minute of sitting. Nancy and her team ran towards the net and showed us how they banded the bird and attached the tag that transmits location data to MODIS towers across the country when the bird is in range. This study was particularly interesting because we don’t know much about pipits and many prairie birds like the pipit are in danger of decline before we have enough information to protect them. The third pipit proved that wildlife capture is not so easy and we had much needed “grass time” throwing needles and thread at each other. From there we got a little lost on our way to meet another PhD student, Claire, but eventually found our way to the American Prairie bison herd she is studying. Claire showed us the $25,000 drone made of styrofoam that she had to throw into the wind and hope for the best (wildlife research at its finest). Her work was my favorite to see and hear about during this section of the summer CI. Bison movement data is few and far between so the opportunity to study them can be controversial in the state of Montana but could ultimately offer insight to the benefits of bison and push forward a different perspective.

We went to the Charles M Russell wildlife refuge on the final day of the section and discussed the history of the land and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Our final excursion and packing the campsite allowed for reflection on what I learned during this section and the extent of just how different wildlife are viewed on the prairie and where we go from here for the benefit of ranchers, wildlife, and the land.