As the rain and wind woke me up around 3:00 AM this morning, I thought maybe I would catch up on some sleep by sleeping in.  Little did I realize my mind had different ideas and started thinking about all of the things I have put off, waiting for a rainy, snowy day, to get caught up on.  I remembered that there should be a letter from the Chairman in the next Council newsletter, but instead of waiting till morning my mind kept thinking of all the Council has been involved in during the past year.  And so I sit here typing instead of sleeping.   

A year ago a group of us traveled to our Nation's Capitol for a series of meetings with the Corps, BLM, USFWS, FSA, NRCS, and some more of the alphabet soup that play politics every day. I, being a newcomer to such things, was very impressed with how the games are played and not so impressed with how slowly some changes are made. After returning home and stepping off the plane in Great Falls and then to the ranch to brand calves the next morning I remembered thinking that the day before I was leaving the hustle and bustle of Washington DC and today I am mounted on my favorite horse, roping calves out of a pen, and doing what needed to be done to ensure a healthy group of calves for fall delivery -  all of which couldn't be done without the help of my neighbors.  I had been home about a week or so and my cell phone rang and as I looked at the incoming call I saw it was a 202 area code and thought “hmmm…, strange”. But as it turned out, it was for me and it was David Hoague with the FSA in Washington DC, wanting to know how to fix the Missouri-Madison Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) so that more producers would enroll in it.  Being the cordial person that I am, I told him all of the things that we had discussed in DC with others about CREP.  Now - one year, several meetings, and several drafts and rewritten drafts - and the changes necessary to make this program more appealing are nearing completion, hopefully in the near future.      

The other areas that we have been working on the past year or more are grazing on the CMR, working with the BLM to help put the Monument Resource Management Plan into play, touring the Granger Ranch and learning about their extensive CREP project, touring the Sterling Ranch and the neighboring Beartooth Wildlife Management Area near Holter Lake, cleaning-up trash and debris from Holter Lake, touring and advocating for a solution to the Whitmore Ravine, and participating in Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) meetings.  

The CMR is a vast stretch of land - nearly 1.1 million acres of eastern Montana, including the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge – all managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Being that the council is made up of people from 15 Conservation Districts from the headwaters to the border, we discussed some of the issues facing the ranchers in those counties that border and depend on the CMR for economic survival.  We decided that with the loss of grazing that seems to occur on an annual basis, we should learn more from the producers who depend on it for survival.  So we traveled to Jordan and met with many of the permitees and producers in that area.  The meeting was also well-attended by our state and federal legislative representatives as well as other community members. The Council has one seat on the CMR’s Planning Team.  We just received a copy of the draft alternatives for their new management plan and only have a couple of weeks to get through them and submit comments.

The tours of the Granger Ranch have provided great insight to the CREP and have helped us make decisions regarding changes that need to be enacted to make the CREP a more usable program for the rest of the Missouri River corridor up to the Fred Robinson bridge. Jeff Laszlo, Rob Hazlewood and many others who have done the work and have seen first-hand what works and what doesn't need to be commended for their efforts.

Working with the BLM on insuring grazing in the Monument and the rest of their plan goes into effect has been hampered by a couple of different lawsuits. 

The Council has written letters of support standing behind the plan.  We believe it is a very doable plan with such a vast array of interests for a multiple use area, there is something for all interested parties.  There was a lot of give and take and countless Resource Advisory Council (RAC) and sub-RAC meetings to come up with the management plan.  It should be put into place and see what comes out the other side. 

The tour of the Beartooth Wildlife Management Area (WMA) last July was very impressive.  It was spearheaded by Council Member Scott Blackman, who neighbors the area. We had a great day with Federal and State Legislators represented, as well as DNRC, FWP, BLM, USFWS and a host of other interested parties. We learned how coming to the table and talking about new ideas of working together and working for common goals can really happen. The Beartooth WMA allows cattle grazing and managers have found that since implementing some grazing techniques, the elk numbers have started coming back to levels before fires had pushed the elk off the area and onto private ground. We toured the Sterling Ranch and learned how managing timber harvest can help control the spread of fire as well as bark beetle infestations. When two vested interests join borders and decide to make a plan and follow through with the plan and after years of working together can stand up and say that each is their best neighbor, habitat is restored, timber saved, and cattle grazed, I would have to say that is conservation at its finest.

Whitmore Ravine has been a long time project of the Cascade County Conservation District and this Council has stood in support of their efforts to stop the erosion.  When PPL Montana did some repairs on their dams near Great Falls I had a chance to see first-hand the ravine and the sediment that has been dumped into the Missouri River. It was really unbelievable to see that much sediment.  The Cascade County Conservation District, Malmstrom Air Force Base, and the adjacent landowners have agreed on a plan to stop the erosion and we will continue to support and applaud their efforts.

The Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) eats a lot of Council Member Buzz Mattelin's and our Coordinator, Vicki Marquis’ time.  MRRIC meets quarterly to provide guidance and advice to the Army Corps of Engineers on their current and future recovery and restoration plans for the entire Missouri River basin.  Of interest to Montanans is MRRIC’s role in the Intake fish passage project on the Yellowstone River.  The project is funded with Missouri River recovery funds and Buzz, Vicki, and the other Montana MRRIC members work hard to ensure that the project is not negatively impacted by MRRIC recommendations.  Additionally, MRRIC will have a role in prioritizing the flow modification plans at the Fort Peck Dam as well as cottonwood regeneration projects throughout the corridor. 

In January, Dean Rogge, Vicki Marquis, and I traveled back to DC for a series of meetings - 14 in three days to be exact. Once again, we met with some of the same people we met in 2009.  Hopefully we are building relationships that will be beneficial to the Council and our local Conservation Districts, making sure the folks in DC don't forget about all of us at the grassroots level.

In a note of great sadness to all Council Members and others who have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know Vicki, she has decided to leave us this fall and enroll in Law School. I remember when I got elected Chairman, the nervousness and feeling of being overwhelmed must have been written on my face - Council Member, Buzz Mattelin said to me “don't worry Dana, Vicki will make you look good.” Vicki is much appreciated and will be greatly missed, thanks for all you have done.

Last but not least there are a lot of groups who call themselves conservationists but really are nothing more than preservationists. A true conservation program involves using and managing the resources that are there, not setting them aside.

Thanks again to all Council Members who generously donate their time and effort to making life better for all to enjoy and make a living along the Missouri River.