The Terms “Rancher” and “Conservationist” are Not Mutually Exclusive

Guest post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Addie Carter

Ranchers seem to have this stigma around them that they hate wildlife and don’t want it on their land because they want all the grass to go to their cattle. I’m learning though during my time here in Montana that generally that’s not the case. While ranchers do want to have enough grass for their cattle, many are not opposed to wildlife on their land and in most cases they’re proud of it. While we were on the Robinson’s Ranch in southern Phillips County, we talked with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance about their opinions on wildlife and ranch management. Like all the other ranchers I have meet on this trip, they were extremely passionate about their work and their way of life. We learned about past generations like the Robinson brother’s father who is buried on the land that he invested his entire life into, and about the new generation like Leo Barthelmess’ son, who he is very proud to have working on his ranch expanding their sheep herd.  This family-style ranch, where it has been passed down through generations, is why the ranchers are so invested in and why they want the best for the land.

Surprisingly enough, while talking to the RSA, I learned that they believe that the best ranch management practices include wildlife. Their opinion is that if you have healthy wildlife populations on your land, then that means that your grassland has high biodiversity which in turn gives the cows better grazing forage. Obviously, there is a limit to how much wildlife they want on their land so they maintain the numbers through hunting, but overall they enjoy seeing the wild animals on their land. Now I did think to myself upon hearing this that they might just be saying this to us to get us to favor cattle ranching. So where’s the evidence? The evidence happened to be sitting on top of its burrow on our drive out. Prairie dogs used to be a nuisance species that were poisoned on sight, so the fact that the Robison had some on their ranch was, in my opinion, a good indication that they do in fact have a higher tolerance of wildlife then I previously thought.

Obviously this tolerance of prairie dogs has not been around forever, as shown by Montana’s good neighbor policy where prairie dogs within a certain distance from the property line have to be poisoned so they don’t run over into the neighbor’s property. This old fashion mindset is being changed by conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy (TNC). I found TNC’s approach to wildlife conservation to be very interesting and effective. They offer ranchers a reduced price to lease their land depending on if certain wildlife species are on their land, like prairie dogs, or if their fencing is safe for wildlife. This gives ranchers an incentive to incorporate better wildlife-friendly practices on their ranch without the ranchers feeling like they are forced into it. The public opinion of The Nature Conservancy seems to be very positive among the ranchers, and this relationship between the ranchers and TNC is very important because it allows for open talks about wildlife, cattle, and the future of Montana between people who have an understanding of each other and their background.

I am starting to see that these two terms “rancher” and “conservationist” are not mutually exclusive. I have learned through my time here that the ranchers want wildlife on their lands if not because of the aesthetic value then because of the consequences if wildlife is not there. In 2015, the greater sage grouse was considered for endangered status. This was a wake up call for many people in Montana, because having a species being listed as endangered puts a lot of restrictions on what can be done to it on both private and public lands. The State of Montana came together to make a plan to prevent the decline of sage grouse and hopefully stop the need to have them classified as an endangered species. This unification between the government and the public was evident when we went to meet with Mark, Lonnie, and John who work on a Sage Grouse Initiative Project. This initiative studies sage grouse and is constantly working on ways to evolve the management practices of sage grouse. Around 85% of their research is conducted on private land, and much of this land is owned by ranchers with whom they try to maintain a good relationship with because it is with their support that the sage grouse will be able to achieve a sustainable population.

Collectively, from these experiences in Montana my opinion is that the best way for Montana to reach a balance between ranching and wildlife is through unification of the community. On our last day in Montana, John Carlson said something that summarizes this: “Conservation is not just changing management but mind sets as well”.  I think this way of viewing conservation will not just work for wildlife conservation in Montana, but worldwide.