Location: Rangeland Resources & Systems Research
Project Number: 3012-12610-001-003-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 15, 2023
End Date: Dec 15, 2026
Objective:
Expand climate-related outreach in Montana by providing opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and forested land managers (with an emphasis on serving Native American producers and land managers, although not exclusively), as well as their trusted partners and service providers, to enhance their knowledge and decision-making capacity on issues related to climate change.
Approach:
The Cooperator and ARS will collaborate in providing farmers, ranchers, forested-land managers, and their service providers (hereafter referred collectively as “partners”) with science-based information, decision tools, and learning experiences to increase climate literacy and reduce vulnerability to a changing climate through efforts including (but not limited to) the following:
1. Cooperator will incorporate climate relevant topics into an existing annual workshop that they have been organizing for multiple years in partnership with Fort Peck Community College’s (FPCC) Agricultural Extension Program. This workshop focuses on Native American producers/land managers across Montana and will strengthen their climate-related knowledge and capacity.
2. Cooperator will conduct climate-related outreach programming (e.g., presentations, workshops, on-farm demonstrations, field-days) for Native American producers/land managers associated with the Flathead Reservation, as it applies to:
a) rangeland management (e.g., vegetation monitoring; cultural burning; targeted grazing for invasive species control, fire breaks, wildlife habitat, other ecosystem services);
b) irrigation management (e.g., soil moisture monitoring, irrigation scheduling, efficiency at field vs. watershed scales).
3. Cooperator will coordinate with the Northern Plains Climate Hub to identify meetings or events for the Cooperator to travel to for the purpose of building trust and conducting science-based, climate-related outreach with farmers, ranchers, forest-land managers (Native and non-native) and/or their technical service providers in Montana (or other states of the Northern Plains Climate Hub’s region, which includes Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota).
