1st Quarter Meeting Minutes
March 6th, 2006
Cascade, MT

Presentation

The meeting began with a presentation by Dale Veseth with the South Phillips County Rancher Stewardship Alliance. Dale first spoke about the grass bank program at The Nature Conservancy’s Matador Ranch in south Phillips County. TNC was attracted to the area by the 10-12 grassland bird species in the area and bought the 60,000 acre ranch in 2000. The area contains the most stable population of sage grouse in North America as well as peregrine hawks, crowing owls, mountain plovers, and others. Other species TNC is concerned about are the prairie dog and the black-footed ferret, which is the most endangered North American mammal. Ranch incentives for participating in the grass bank program at TNC are: wildlife habitat for prairie dogs and sage grouse; native range conservation such as weed prevention and prevention of conversion to cropland; sustainable ranch management by participation in the Undaunted Stewardship Program; and ranch conservation projects. The program has resulted in no new sodbusting on 14 ranches, a weed prevention area that covers 340,000 acres, and 11 ranches participating in the Undaunted Stewardship program. 10,400 acres of prairie dog towns and more than 25 sage grouse habitats have been protected in the last three years. Some keys to the success of the program are: “carrots not sticks”; consistency and stability; moderate grazing fee; grassbank personnel; integrity, respect, and communication among participants; and everyone must benefit. Some of the challenges are: loss of independence; management control; time requirements for meetings and communal work days; diverse interests; and health of the cattle. Some of the benefits are: drought relief; conservation incentives; weed prevention; sustainable ranch management; economics of scale; and hared learning and social experience. The South Phillips County Rancher Stewardship Alliance grew out of the grassbank participation and is focused on information sharing, consensus building, outreach, and legal issues. They are currently working on their non-profit status and recently received a $35,000 grant. E-mail address for Dale is djvsth@mtintouch.net and Linda Poole at TNC is lpoole@tnc.org.

General

Call to Order and Agenda Approval: The Missouri River Conservation Districts Council’s first quarterly meeting of 2006 was called to order by Chairman Curt McCann at 1:00 P.M. on March 6th, 2006 at the First State Bank in Malta. Council members present were: Dave Kascht, NRCS; Rick Anderson, Chouteau County CD; Bill French, Phillips CD; Boone Whitmer, McCone CD; Jim Beck, Broadwater CD; John Chase, Cascade County CD; Ron Garwood, Valley County CD; Paul Gies, Fergus CD; and B.G. FitzGerald, Garfield County CD. Others present were: Scott Kaiser, DNRC Miles City; Seth Broesder, Congressman Rehberg’s office; Roger Zentzis, Marias River Watershed Group; Lester Wilke, Phillips CD; Pat Anderson, Phillips CD; Larry Cook from Fort Benton; and Carl Seilstad, Fergus County Commissioner. Two corrections to the agenda were noted – the 3rd item under New Business, training opportunity through the Institute for Conservation Leadership, was removed from the agenda as the deadline for the training had already passed. National River Cleanup Week was added as another New Business agenda item.

Travel Vouchers: Travel vouchers were handed out to all Council members present.

Review and Approval of Minutes: The minutes for the December 14, 2005 quarterly meeting and the February 8, 2006 Executive Committee conference call were reviewed. Rick moved to accept the minutes as presented, John seconded, and the motion carried.

Financial Report: Marquis presented the financial report, including the Monthly Budget Report and Transaction Report. Rick moved to accept both reports, Jim seconded the motion and it passed (ayes all). The Council briefly reviewed the Proposed FY07 Budget and, in the interest of time, decided to discuss and approve it at the next quarterly meeting.

Correspondence: Correspondence sent and received since the last quarterly meeting was presented, see lists attached.

Reports:

1. Coordinator: Marquis presented her monthly report for February (copy attached).
2. MACD: No MACD representative was present to report.
3. NRCS: Dave Kascht reported on NRCS grants available, including the Conservation Innovation grant; and the Cooperative Conservation Grant, which is awarded on an 8-digit Hydorlogic Unit Code basis for rapid watershed assessment work.
4. DNRC: Scott Kaiser from the Miles City DNRC office reported that the DNRC had no current issues to report but they continue to support the Council’s efforts.
5. Upper Reach: Jim Beck reported on two legislative working groups, the groundwater / surface water group and the group working on to clarify the exemption for groundwater developments < 35 gpm. John Chase added that the Cascade County CD recently received a draft engineering report for the Whitmore Ravine.
6. Middle Reach: Paul Gies reported that the P-N Ranch bordering the Missouri River in the Breaks area was recently sold, although the new owner has not been made public. Additionally, Fergus County recently hosted a Weed Seminar that was well-attended and well-received. They discussed new chemical applications that may be more appropriate for use near water. Rick Anderson added that Chouteau County is working on the water rights adjudication on the Teton River, the Marias Assessment, Floodplain regulations workshops, and a CWMA along the river corridor. Marquis added that the Council is setting up Floodplain and Development Regulation workshops in the Middle and Upper Reach, a narrative description will be presented during the DNRC Special One-Time-Only Funding discussion under New Business.
7. Reservoir Reach: Ron Garwood reported that the USACE decided against a spring pulse in March, which was good news for the area; however, the winter releases were higher than expected. Ron also reported that the warm water fish hatchery at Fort Peck would be hosting a meeting on March 11th to discuss funding options for operation and he would try to attend that meeting.
8. Lower Reach: Boone Whitmer reported that the Lower Missouri CRM Group would be sponsoring an oil and gas development information meeting; McCone County was working to replace culverts on the Redwater River with bridges; and an article on the Dinosaur Trail was being published in an RV magazine, which would bring more tourist industry to the area.

New Business

Funding Request from Marias River Watershed Group (MRWG): Roger Zentzis from the Marias River Watershed Group presented information on the group’s work to date and their need for additional funding to complete an assessment of the lower portion of the Marias River. The group has been working with Warren Kellogg to finalize the plan and they need $24,470 to complete the work. Roger asked if the Council would request part of their special one-time-only funding for this purpose.

Special One-Time-Only Funding from DNRC: The Council discussed the Marias River Watershed Group’s request as well as the ideas presented on the attached handout. It was determined that since the Land Use Planning Workshops do not cost too much, the Council could fund those internally and not request special funding for them. Jim Beck noted that the interactive display was a worthy project that could target varied audiences and offered to help on it. Boone also suggested that several static displays (similar to our existing display) be purchased and permanently stationed at museums, chambers of commerce, Dinosaur Trail stations, etc. throughout the corridor. It was noted that the Undaunted Stewardship display was a good example. Other discussion centered on the newsletter and the website update. Paul moved to request funding for the MRWG assessment in the amount of $24,470; the newsletter and website updates; and the interactive display. Rick seconded and the motion carried.

BLM Central Montana Resource Advisory Council (RAC) Nomination: Several Council members noted that RAC membership is very time-consuming and that they did not have the time to devote to it. Carl Seilstad in the audience noted that the RAC membership was a very important issue and urged the Council to consider sending in a nomination. One option presented was to nominate Marquis to represent the Council in a Category 2 seat on the RAC. Rick noted that that approach may work better than nominating any one council member. Ron moved to nominate Marquis for a BLM Central RAC Category 2 seat, John seconded and the motion passed (ayes all).

National River Cleanup Week: After a short discussion, Paul moved to participate again this year, John seconded and the motion passed.

The meeting broke for dinner and to attend the BLM public meeting on the draft RMP/EIS for the Monument. At the BLM public meeting, Council Members visited with several BLM specialists at four stations: Health of the Land and Fire; Natural Gas Exploration and Development; Visitor Use, Services, and Infrastructure; and Access and Transportation. Council Members also heard public comments ranging from private property owners, grazing permit holders, county commissioners, and other interested parties. Bill French spoke publicly about the need to take private property out of the Monument, keep all the current roads open, protect grazing at the same levels prior to the Monument designation, and give every consideration to the families living in the Monument who have worked to keep the area in the good shape it is in today, they should be the ones in control of the Monument.

The meeting reconvened at 8:00 A.M. on March 7, 2006 to discuss Old Business. Council Members present included Boone Whitmer, Paul Gies, Rick Anderson, Curt McCann, John Chase, Don Iversen, and B.G. FitzGerald.

Old Business

Update Work Plan: After some discussion regarding potential projects throughout the corridor, Paul moved that the Council pursue the formation of a CWMA in the Middle Reach and funding for a mobile weed wash station for the Reservoir Reach. John seconded the motion and it passed, ayes all.

BLM’s Draft RMP/EIS for the Monument: Discussion of the RMP/EIS began with Rick pointing out that the most effective approach would be to point out areas where the preferred alternative is in conflict with NEPA, ADA, and other regulatory requirements. Additionally, the BLM’s authority to charge fees should be researched and questioned.

Boone discussed the water rights issue and noted that there must be a formal transfer of management authority from the State of Montana to the BLM before the BLM has any control over the river. Additionally, we should question whether or not the Fort Belknap tribe has an aboriginal water right for the Missouri River that would impact management of the Monument.

Rick noted that the upper boundary of the Monument has not been clarified and that the City of Fort Benton would prefer the boundary be outside their city limits. He also noted that a discussion of availability funding is necessary, the BLM cannot just issue a mandate without funding it. Historically, the BLM has followed a “limits of acceptable change” policy when making management decisions whereby they must explain why they are changing some aspect of the management plan and provide data supporting the need for a change before the change is instituted.

The group also wanted to determine the Governor’s stand on the issue and discussed sending a letter to the Governor asking his office to go on record stating which alternative he supports. It was also noted that since the local communities likely use the area the most, they will be burdened the most by the imposition of fees. The group agreed to advocate for Alternative A and the use of the limits of acceptable change policy to make management decisions.

Boone stated that the BLM should also investigate the use of cattle grazing to enhance elk habitat. He noted that Fred King with Montana FWP has succeeded in combining both in southwestern Montana at the Wall Creek WMA.

John noted that the Council should support oil and gas development rights on private property. The BLM should do more to ensure private landowners can feasibly develop their oil and gas rights. The Proclamation allows historic uses and oil and gas development should be considered a historic use; however, if those rights are subject to unfair transportation requirements, they cannot be exercised. John also noted concerns over wildland fires. If the BLM follows a “let it burn” policy, will private property and grazing lands be impacted?

The group also questioned why Alternative F was the preferred alternative and noted that the draft plan does not explain why Alternative F is better than the others. The group decided to have Marquis draft a letter asking BLM the questions identified above. The letter should be copied to Fort Belknap, State agencies, the Governor, the State and Federal BLM Directors, and the three Congressional Delegates.

Submitted by:

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Vicki Marquis, Coordinator

Approved by unanimous vote June 7th, 2006:

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Curt McCann, Chairman