2020Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

Annual Report

2 3

In the midst of severe drought, we’re constantly reminded of the power of deep roots. The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance has been working to solve problems and create a brighter future for our ranches, our rural communities and the wildlife that depends on this land for more than 17 years. Our organization has experienced some incredible growth in the past year. We’ve added new staff, we’ve added resources for more grazing improvement projects, and we’ve added big goals to our future plans. But we know we’ve only grown today because of the local, focused effort so many people have put in over the course of the past 17 years.

We believe this is how we help our own rural communities succeed. We start small, we focus on the positive outcomes we can control, and we recognize we must desire a clear solution more than we want to fixate on our problems.

Out here, we all want quality of life for ourselves and our livestock, we want a wonderful community to live in, we want these soils and water systems to work properly. As ranchers we recognize we’re just a little piece of this big complex puzzle of life. Together, we can take good care of the pieces in our hands.

We’re excited to share this annual report with you, and to show you the pieces we’ve been working on. Our collective successes are only possible when we tap into the reserves of a deeply rooted community. We need each other to build a thriving future. I’m so thankful to live in the community we do, to work on the landscape we do, and to partner with the people we do. It’s a wonderful place to be.

Leo Barthelmess,Ranchers Stewardship AllianceBoard President

Conni FrenchVice President

Aaron OxarartCo-Treasurer

Casey CoulterDirector

Dale VesethDirector

Kelli FrenchDirector

Sheila WalshSecretary

Vicki OlsonCo-Treasurer

MEET THE RANCHERSSTEWARDSHIP ALLIANCELEADERSHIP:

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Darin and Ashley Pankratz and their family in Valley County, Montana. The young ranching couple with three children – Hannah (7), Gavin (5), and Kash (3) – are expanding their grass foot print in what is traditionally farm country.

“It’s really sandy soil around here, and they used to summer fallow everything, plow it up. So the land really blew; they lost a lot of topsoil,” Darin says. “But it grows good grass, and I’d just as soon keep it that way. I want to make it better, too.”

Using funding from RSA’s Phase IV grant, the Pankratz family will take on innovative techniques to restore the former CRP land now in their grazing system. They’ve dedicated a special acreage to experimental soil health amendments and cover crops.

“It’s an opportunity to give younger people a boost, and keep people in the community,” Ashley says. “And we do have a great community out here. We want to take really good care of it so that someday, they can, too.”

ON THE COVER

3

5

Laura fell in love with the prairies growing up on her family’s diverse farm and ranch in Western Nebraska. She has a degree in agriculture communications and journalism from the University of Wyoming.

Laura brings experience as an agriculture journalist, farm and ranch photographer and communication manager. Prior to working for RSA, Laura managed her own agriculture communications company, served as the editor of an award-winning, weekly newspaper in rural Montana and worked as a writer and photographer in the branded beef industry.

Laura works with our ranching leaders to manage RSA’s committee work, facilitates and organizes educational events and leads outreach and communications efforts.

Contact Laura at info@ranchstewards.org.

Angel grew up in Malta and graduated from Malta High school in 2008. She went on to graduate with her Bachelors of Science - Business Accounting degree in 2011 from Montana State University. In 2012, she earned her Master’s in Professional Accountancy from the same university. Angel spent three years working in public accounting and earned her Certified Public Accounting license in 2014. With a background in auditing federal funds, Angel is excited to bring her accounting, federal grant, and business knowledge to RSA.

Angel makes her home just east of Malta with her husband, Aaron, and three children, Tessa, Orrin, and Nash where together, along with other family members, they run a family cattle operation. When Angel and her family aren’t working, they enjoy camping and boating on Fort Peck Lake.

Angel works with ranchers, contractors and partners to manage project invoicing, grant administration, budgeting and more.

Contact Angel at admin@ranchstewards.org

Martin grew up in Manhattan, Montana. He went to college at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming and finished his agriculture education degree at MSU Bozeman. While in college, Martin got a seasonal job as a range technician with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) based in Phillips County, where he lived with his grandparents.

He remembers spending time with his uncle on the family’s Phillips County farm and ranch, watching him interact with the local BLM range technician. “I couldn’t believe that was a job,” Townsend says. “It sounded like the most fun thing in the world. That’s what I enjoy most about my job now, being able to work with ranchers and farmers to help improve their places and help them meet their goals.”

Martin works with ranchers and landowners to find the technical and financial solutions they need to improve their grazing for the benefit of their businesses, the land and wildlife.

Contact Martin at lands@ranchstewards.orgMartin Townsend

Conservation Coordinator

Angel DeVriesFinance and

Grant Administrator

Laura NelsonProject Leader

OUR PURPOSE

OUR VISION

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance exists to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions we need to create healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.

We believe in a future where ranching and rural communities are so successful in the Northern Great Plains that ranch families never need to consider selling or transitioning their land out of production agriculture. Opportunities are abundant for new agriculturalists. We have preserved the integrity of working lands so that the people, economies, wildlife and natural landscapes may flourish in the Northern Great Plains.

OUR MISSIONRanching, Conservation, Communities – a Winning Team!

4

MEET OUR STAFF

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance works through a committee structure led by volunteer ranchers. Committees meet monthly or quarterly and create their own plan of work, returning to the full board for advice and project approvals. All committees have open membership and would love to put your time and talents to good use in supporting ranching, conservation and our rural communities!

76

Chair: Dale Veseth (djvsth@itstriangle.com)

Goal: To develop a consistent, strategic outreach plan that shares our message about conservation, ranching and communities.

Outcome: These stories and outreach proves to the larger conservation community ranchers not only deserve a seat at the table in these discussions, but they are imperative to conservation success.

8 9

Ranching, relationships,and resilience in the WestRanchers Stewardship Alliance nationally recognized in efforts to build resilient ranch communities, healthy landscapes from the ground up

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance was recognized with two national awards

in 2020 for its work toward more resilient rural communities, a vibrant

ranching economy, and continued healthy, working landscapes with

flourishing wildlife and diverse habitat. The rancher-led non-profit based in

Malta, Montana, believes strong rural relationships are the key to this vision.

“We want young people and our ranching community to flourish here on the

Hi-Line, and this just shows what can happen when we all work together

with a common goal,” RSA Board President Leo Barthelmess said. “There

are so many opportunities for ranchers who want to see a brighter future.”

In 2020, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance committed more than $194,000

to assist 13 local ranch families meet their grazing and production goals

through stock water development, grassland restoration, assistance in

converting retired Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land to functioning

grazing systems, wildlife-friendly fencing and other grazing improvements

(see by the numbers sidebar on page 14).

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance facilitates these grazing improvement

projects through its Conservation Committee, with funding from the National

Fish and Wildlife Foundation and participating partners. The Conservation

Committee solicits, reviews and ranks potential projects according to the

three pillars of RSA’s mission: Ranching, Conservation and Communities – a

Winning Team!

South Phillips County rancher Conni French stepped in as chair of the

Conservation Committee in 2021. Partners on the committee include RSA,

Montana State University Extension, Ducks Unlimited, Montana Rangelands

Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, Natural

Resource and Conservation Service, Pheasants Forever, U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service Partners Program, World Wildlife Fund, National Wildlife

Federation, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Any committee member may bring a potential ranch project to the table,

based on landowner goals and requests, then partners may collaborate on

funding resources to see it through.

10 11

Bunting and Chestnut-collared Longspur. Monitoring data shows significant

increases in Sprague’s Pipit, Baird’s Sparrow and Chestnut-collared

Longspurs on RSA project acres compared to untreated acres. This post-

project monitoring continues to prove that ranch work and wildlife can be

mutually beneficial.

“Nothing is done in a vacuum,” RSA board member and south Phillips

County rancher Dale Veseth said. “We want to get the next generation of

ranchers up and moving on this landscape; that’s our No. 1 goal, and it’s a

tough nut to crack. But when we bring so many other players to the table,

you can really get a lot of good work done on the ground.”

Because of this work, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance was recognized as

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 Mountain-Prairie Regional Director

Partnership Award winner. The Regional Director’s Partnership Award

In 2020, partners and landowners contributed an additional $178,000 to

grazing improvement projects, totalling $372,000 paid to local well drillers,

pipe setters, fencing contractors, and more, supporting the rural economy

beyond the ranch.

“What attracted me to RSA was the relationships it was working to build,”

French told attendees at RSA’s Annual Meeting this winter. “We work on

building relationships. That is a real positive, proactive way to address some

of the issues going on in agriculture today. We’re building relationships with

other people, other groups; with the land and the landscape.”

Since Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s Conservation Committee formed in

2017, it has worked with 38 family ranches to impact more than 50,000

acres with grazing restoration or enhancements. In that time, total project

costs have exceeded $3.3 million spent in the regional community to make

a positive impact on grasslands.

Each grazing improvement project also shows a measured benefit to iconic

prairie species such as Sage Grouse and Pronghorn and declining grassland

birds such as Sprague’s Pipit, McCown’s Longspur, Baird’s Sparrow, Lark

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance board members accepting the 2020 Landscape Stewardship

Award and the 2020 The Regional Director’s Partnership Award at their annual meeting in Malta

this winter. Individuals include, from left to right, RSA board leaders Conni French, Vicki Olson,

Kelli French, Leo Barthelmess, Dale Veseth and Sheila Walsh.

“ It’s fun to see the excitement and the

enthusiasm from so many people and so many

different walks of life working together to make

good things happen on ranch lands and to

keep people ranching. That’s the beauty of the

Conservation Committee. ”– Conni French, South Phillips County Rancher & RSA Board Member

12 13

While RSA works exclusively with private landowners, some projects impact

leased federal land in addition to deeded land. The Public Lands Foundation

recognizes that conservation goals on public land are only successful when

surrounding private landowners are successful, too.

“Because such a large portion of the native range in north-central Montana

is under private ownership, it would be impossible for BLM to provide for

all the habitat needs of native wildlife without the cooperation of private

landowners,” Public Lands Foundation representative Richard Hopkins

shared at the RSA Annual Meeting. “RSA has provided a bridge between

public and private land managers to learn more about each other’s values,

concerns, and available resources.”

RSA President Leo Barthelmess noted that these awards belong to every

rancher in the Northern Great Plains who is working hard to care for the

land, their livestock and the wildlife populations that make their home on

the land.

“These awards are a recognition of the stewardship activities that occur

every day in the ranching community in Montana, and specifically here on

the Hi-Line,” Barthelmess said.

recognizes individuals or organizations that have contributed significantly to

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mountain-Prairie Region’s priorities over

the past year. Regional Director Noreen Walsh presented the award at a

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance meeting this winter.

“The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance has been critical in helping the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service achieve our conservation goals,” Walsh said. “We

applaud RSA for being partners who are working every day to be incredible

stewards of the land, innovative leaders in agriculture and conservation and

maintain sustainable rural communities for future generations.”

The Public Lands Foundation also recognized RSA as its 2020 Landscape

Stewardship Award winner. The Public Lands Foundation grants this

recognition to honor private citizens and organizations that work to advance

and sustain community-based stewardship on landscapes that include,

in whole or in part, public lands administered by the Bureau of Land

Management.

14

MOR

E TH

AN

FEET

MOR

E TH

AN

of wildlife-friendlyfencing improvements

NEW WELLS

28 MILES

5

10

4400 ACRESof grazing habitat restored to perennial habitat and native grasses

NEW LIVESTOCK TANKSwith Bird Escape Ramps

for stock tanks

of water pipeline for enhanced stock

WATER SYSTEMS8000

In 2020, RSA committed more than $194,000 to 13 local

ranches for on-the-ground grazing improvement projects in

North-Central Montana. Partner and landowner matches and

contributions added $178,000, which means that together,

we’ve added $372,000 worth of business back to our local

communities. These improvements included:

In addition to on-the-ground grazing improvements, RSA is committed to

offering opportunities to young and beginning ranchers and offering

accessible education to help ranchers build resilient businesses.

The organization’s Beginning Rancher Committee and Grassbank

Committee are developing mentorship and grass leasing opportunities,

respectively. The Education/Workshop Committee hosted its inaugural

Rural Resilience webinar series in early 2021, offering free sessions

on soil health, progressive grazing techniques, ranch financial

planning and more. In July, RSA will host on-ranch soil health

workshops with Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils in Phillips and Valley

Counties. For more information or to register for any of these events

visit www.ranchstewards.org.

To learn more or get involved in any of the RSA committees, please contact RSA Project Leader Laura Nelson at:

info@ranchstewards.org

15

Phillips County rancher Heather Martin

is working hard to build her own herd of

registered Red Angus cattle. She purchased a

piece of recently-release CRP land and needed

water and fencing to turn it into a functioning

grazing system.

With shared funding from RSA’s Conservation

Committee, Heather drilled a new well, install

6,000 feet of livestock pipeline, install two fiberglass water tanks with bird ramps and

construct 1.2 miles of perimeter and internal fencing. With a nearly one-to-one match,

Martin purchased the tanks and labor to construct the fencing and in turn, the Ranchers

Stewardship Alliance paid to install the well, pipeline and purchase fencing supplies.

“It’s a godsend,” Martin says. “In less than eight months,I had water on this place. I couldn’t believe it.”

The new water system allowed her to re-evaluate her entire grazing system, lending more

flexibility to longer rest periods and better seasonal use of her resources. She’s noted an

increased wildlife presence in the reinvigorated landscape.

All across Blaine, Phillips and

Valley County, RSA is working

with ranchers like Heather to

help them meet their grazing

goals, improve wildlife habitat,

and foster the next generation

of ranch stewards on this

landscape. Here’s where else

we’ve been working over the

past three years:

Grassland BirdsThe High Grass Landscape is a habitat area important to grassland birds such

as Baird’s Sparrow, Sprague’s Pipit, and Chestnut-collared Longspurs. 80% of

our 2020 projects occurred within this habitat. Monitoring associated with these

projects showed positive increases in abundance of the above species after project

completion. (Sather, 2020)

Big GameBig Game Migration Corridors are important routes that Pronghorn and Mule Deer

use as they move through our landscape. 60% of our 2020 projects occurred in areas

important for migration of big game. Big Game Winter range is an important habitat

component of survival for these species in our climate. 40% of our 2020 projects

enhanced habitat within big game winter ranges.

Sage GrouseSage Grouse Priority areas are spaces key to sage grouse for the core of their habitat

as well as their migration and movement. 10% of projects worked to prioritize grazing

and therefore intact habitat in Sage Grouse Priority areas. Other projects encouraged

grassland retention and restoration in areas of general habitat use for sage grouse.

RANCH IMPACT

CONSERVATION IMPACT1716

17

We believe that when ranchers succeed, we can help wildlife succeed and in turn,

our rural communities succeed. That is where the strength of our mission statement,

“Ranching, Conservation, Communities – a Winning Team!” is found. Investing in the

ranching economy is also an investment in our rural economies.

We work hard to hire local contractors for grazing improvement work, but the economic

impact expands beyond just our own counties.

Here’s where our project dollars went in 2020:

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RSA PROJECT SPENDING IN 2020

Daniels$24,994

Phillips$76,857

Richland$10,450

Valley$12,355

Cascade$18,137

2020 Year End Statement

Net Assets, January 1 $ 23,414

Income $ 508,406

Expenses $ 303,701

Net Income $ 204,705

Liabilities (Payroll) $ 1,734

Net Assets, December 31 $ 228,118

Efficiency of Spending

Marketing / Fundraising $ 4,221

General Admin $ 31,244

Program Expenses $ 268,236

Grand Total $ 303,701

COMMUNITY IMPACT

FINANCIAL SUMMARIES

Chouteau$49,912

Jefferson$1,619

Grand Total = $194,324

2% 10%

88%

Efficiency of Spending

Marketing / Fundraising

General Admin

Program Expenses

18

19

Individual Contribu�ons

2%

Grants98%

Other0%

Sources of Support

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

TRANSITIONS

Source Amount Percent

Individual Contributions $ 10,824 2.13%

Grants $ 496,244 97.83%

Other $ 1,337 0.26%

$ 508,406 100%

Thank you Sheila!Sheila Walsh has been active in the cattle industry all her life. Sheila’s family raised registered Angus cattle for 27 years. After working at two different bull collection facilities, she moved to Malta where she joined her husband, Bud Walsh, on his ranch. She is also active in the Phillips County Cattlewomen, Phillips County Museum and a board member of the St. Thomas Parish Council.

Sheila joined the RSA board in 2013 and served as our board secretary for seven years. She was instrumental in the creation of and served as the founding chair of our Conservation Committee. She retired from the board at the end of 2020. Sheila’s dedication to the success of that committee, and our organization as a whole, has left an incredible impact on RSA and our larger community. Thank you, Sheila!

Welcome to the board of directors, Amber and Rick!Amber Smith has been living and working in rural, western America for the past two decades. She currently serves on her local country school board, the Council on Aging and Big Dry Transit boards of Garfield County, and spent many years developing riding and coaching programs for 4-H youth. She and her husband are raising their two children and stewarding Antelope Springs Ranch near Cohagen, MT.

Rick Caquelin and his wife ranch south of Stanford, Montana. Rick grew up on a crop and livestock farm in Illinois. He graduated from Montana State University with a range degree and spent the better part of 33 years raising a family and working for the NRCS in Culbertson, Baker and Stanford. Now retired from his work at NRCS, Rick continues to be a trusted advisor to many in the ranching community. Welcome to the board, Rick and Amber!

20

21

Register for events and see recordings from past events at

www.ranchstewards.org

GET INVOLVED WITH RSA 23

Donate todayIf you want to be a part of building strong, resilient ranches, more healthy habitat

and vibrant rural communities for the future of rural Montana, your contributions to

the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance makes a difference!

Donate online at:

www.ranchstewards.org/donate

or mail us a donation of support to:

PO Box 716, Malta, MT 59538

It takes team work to make the dream work!Your donation, no matter the size, helps fuel this good work.

Together we thrive!

We exist to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions they need to foster healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities. Today, our Conservation Committee is the “hub” of working land conservation in north-central Montana. We offer landowners and ranch stewards a one-stop-shop for working land improvements that impact their triple bottom line: what’s good for profit, people and planet. The results of our partnership between ranching and conservation are cause for celebration for all involved.

If you care about the prairies, ranching, wildlife, and rural communities, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is here for you now and in the future.

Thank you for all you do for the health and resilience of our land, water, wildlife and way of life.

Our monthly business meetings are held at 5 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. These meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to join us at the Malta Business Center in person, or sign up for email updates at www.ranchstewards.org to receive the zoom link to join virtually.

Registration is now open for the Nicole Masters North-Central Montana Soil Health Tour, with stops in Winnett, Malta, Glasgow and Circle this June and July!

Cut Here

YES! I can help feed the world, preserve my prairie neighborhood & nurture the next generation.

$50 $100 $500 $1,000 ______

My $____________ check is enclosed, made payable to Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

Charge my card

Make it a re-occuring gift (monthly/annual)

A generous donation form:

Name

Email Address

Signature Phone #

Credit Card # Exp. Date Sec Code

PO Box 716 | Malta, MT 59538 | ranchstewards.org

Ranching, conservation, communities

A winning team!