Photo: Noppadol Paothong
Success Stories
We provide scientific reports, project profiles, technical tools, videos, photos, field guides, and links that tell the story of how cooperative conservation is making a difference for working lands and wildlife across the West.
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Landscape Spotlight: Comanche Pool Grazing Lands In Kansas And Oklahoma
January 14, 2026
Private ranchers in the southern Great Plains are pooling resources for prescribed burns that minimize wildfire damage and regenerate ...
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Beavers Work Stream Restoration Magic In Birch Creek
December 16, 2025
A decade after restoring beavers to an Idaho watershed, a rancher reflects on the benefits and lessons ...
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Grit, Grass and Gated Pipe Help A Wyoming Ranch Thrive
December 8, 2025
Colter McCumber is a generational rancher in Hot Springs County, Wyoming. He partnered with the USDA NRCS to modernize his water system and improve fences, benefiting cattle ...
WLFW in the East
Strong Conservation Team Helps Transform Historic Land into Quail, Monarch Habitat
August 20, 2025
With help from the USDA-NRCS's Working Lands for Wildlife, Barb Heyen restored her Illinois grasslands for quail, monarchs, and ...
WLFW in the East
Revitalized Remnant Prairie Helps Conserve Biodiversity, Restore Ecosystems, and Provide Wildlife Habitat
August 18, 2025
Learn how Bruce and Marla Mestad brought their prairie back to life with the ...
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Saving Nebraska’s Sandhills, One Tree At A Time
February 6, 2025
“Little Miss Clearcut” is restoring the prairie with loppers and a handsaw to keep woody invaders from taking over her grassland ...
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Goats, Shears, Fire And Teamwork: The Recipe Saving Oklahoma’s Grazing Lands
February 5, 2025
GREAT PLAINS 'GUARDIANS OF THE GRASSLANDS SERIES | Scott Westrup was one of the first landowners in Oklahoma to sign up for the NRCS Great Plains Grassland Initiative to get ...
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Lighting A Match To Preserve Nebraska’s Prairie
February 4, 2025
GREAT PLAINS 'GUARDIANS OF THE GRASSLANDS SERIES | This ranch in the Sandhills relies on healthy prairies to support two businesses: a tourist-based outfitting company and for ...
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Kansas Ranchers Use New Strategies to Preserve Prairie Lands
February 3, 2025
GREAT PLAINS 'GUARDIANS OF THE GRASSLANDS SERIES | Chris and Cole Mushrush are keeping grasslands tree-free on their ranch in Strong City, Kansas, and using virtual fencing to ...
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Iconic South Dakota Ranch Removes Trees To Restore Waving Grass
February 2, 2025
GREAT PLAINS 'GUARDIANS OF THE GRASSLANDS SERIES | Landowners Tim and Sarah Bailey work with a conservation-minded ranch manager to keep South Dakota's prairies intact and ...
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Resetting The Gypsum Hills With Fire To Keep Grasslands Tree-Free
February 1, 2025
GREAT PLAINS 'GUARDIANS OF THE GRASSLANDS SERIES | Prescribed burns and strategic grazing practices have made the Nichols Ranch more profitable, as well as more productive for ...
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Meet the American Burying Beetle
December 26, 2024
Get to know this unique species and how long-term conservation efforts in Nebraska are giving its population a ...
Featured Rancher
Montana Sheep Grower Explores Value-Added Options for Livestock
November 5, 2024
Learn how sheep and cattle rancher, Ben Lehfeldt, is working with the NRCS to make his operation more profitable and better for ...
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From Bird To Biome: Keeping the range intact for wildlife and people
September 27, 2024
Learn more about our shift from species-specific conservation to biome-centric ...
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Green River Valley, Wyoming: A land conservation model to follow
July 24, 2024
Conservation easements on private agricultural lands in Wyoming are benefiting ranchers, big game, sage grouse, and rural ...
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USDA, USFWS, State Partners Find Non-Lethal Answers to Grizzly Bear Interactions on Montana Ranches
June 20, 2024
Montana ranchers and partners are working to keep grizzly bears, people, and livestock safe on working ...
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Sustainable Ranching in Utah: A Boon For Wildlife And Livestock
June 12, 2024
Stephen and Kris Ellis are keeping their family tradition of caring for the land and their livestock alive on the Circle Bar Ranch in northern ...
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Holding the Line: Defending Wyoming’s Sagebrush Cores from Cheatgrass
March 27, 2024
Sublette County, Wyoming has successfully treated more than 97,000 acres of cheatgrass, protecting core sagebrush ...
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Migratory Big Game Conservation Highlights the Best of West
December 8, 2023
Learn more about the USDA's Migratory Big Game Initiative and how WLFW is helping lead this broad effort in Wyoming, Montana, and ...
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Meet Bob Budd
August 15, 2023
Hear how Bob Budd from the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund works with the NRCS and local ...
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2023 Western Working Lands for Wildlife Workshop Recap
July 27, 2023
Learn more about the 2023 Western Working Lands for Wildlife ...
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Saving Time, Money and Wildlife through Conservation Practices
November 18, 2022
Jeff Boardman's partnership with the USDA-NRCS is paying off for him and for the migratory big game that move through his ranch every ...
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Latest Sage Grouse “Scorecard” Highlights NRCS Investments and Outcomes
November 17, 2022
The latest Greater Sage-Grouse Scorecard details NRCS investments and conservation milestones in sagebrush country for fiscal year 2022 and cumulatively since ...
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Latest LPCI “Scorecard” Highlights NRCS Investments and Outcomes
November 17, 2022
Check out the latest Lesser Prairie-Chicken Scorecard which details NRCS investments and conservation milestones in the southern Plains states for fiscal year 2022 and ...
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Making Fences Friendlier for Ranchers and Wildlife
August 23, 2022
The Vickrey Family hosts one of the largest mule deer migrations in the country and has worked with the NRCS to make their ranch's fences easier for the deer to ...
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Meet Brian Jensen
July 22, 2022
Hear how Wyoming NRCS's State Biologist, Brian Jensen, uses science to help prioritize where conservation easements most benefit ...
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Meet Jessica Crowder
July 22, 2022
Hear how Jessica Crowder's role as executive director of the Wyoming Stock Growers Land Trust has been so important to the conservation easement culture in the Green River ...
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Meet Jennifer Hayward
July 22, 2022
Hear why Jennifer Hayward believes easements have been so successful in Wyoming's Green River ...
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Meet Maggie Miller
July 22, 2022
Hear why Grindstone Cattle Company's Maggie Miller worked with the NRCS to conserve her land through conservation ...
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Creating Jobs Through Conservation in Southwest Montana
March 22, 2022
In southwest Montana, a creative partnership is improving sagebrush habitat, providing jobs, and empowering youth, one project at a ...
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Beaver Breaks: How Beavers (and low-tech riparian restoration) Help Reduce Impacts From Fire
November 29, 2021
Historically, beavers created vast wetlands that provided critically important habitat for a diverse array of wildlife and plant species. Now, conservationists are restoring ...
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The Story of Saving the Loess Canyons
October 20, 2021
A new report highlights how landowners in the Loess Canyons of Nebraska have successfully reversed tree encroachment in grasslands while also facilitating co-produced science ...
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Conserving Prime Hay Ground As Well As Colorado’s Famous Elk and Deer
August 23, 2021
The Etchart Family placed much of their ranch in a conservation easement protecting prime working land from development and preserving habitat for elk, deer, and sage ...
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Sage Grouse Populations Grow Faster After Tree Removal
June 10, 2021
New study shows that sage grouse population growth rates are 12% higher following long-term conifer ...
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Washington Ranch Preserves Sagebrush Rangeland in Perpetuity
May 26, 2021
New conservation easement in Washington state preserves more than 2,000 acres of native sagebrush range in critical sage grouse habitat, adding to a 6,800-acre easement the ...
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The Value of Keeping it in Grass
May 26, 2021
The Burke Family's long partnership with NRCS has led to better forage for livestock and wildlife and, in 2017, their ranch was protected in perpetuity through a ...
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Healthy Grass Equals Profitable Ranches
March 15, 2021
The Blair family has worked hard to make their ranch profitable and resilient which benefits wildlife and the next generation. These ranchers earned the 2020 Leopold ...
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Shared Capacity, Shared Success
February 21, 2021
Learn about the Strategic Action Watershed Team and how these partner-positions are adding significant capacity to NRCS offices across the ...
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Ask an Expert | Mitch Faulkner, 2020 Rangeland Management Specialist of the Year, Talks Partnerships and More
May 27, 2020
Mitch Faulkner, 2020 NRCS Rangeland Management Specialist of the Year, talks about the partnerships that have advanced rangeland conservation across boundaries in South ...
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Success Story | Innovative Small Business Owner Integral to Restoring Grazing Lands
May 6, 2020
Meet Cecil Swaggart, an innovative small business owner whose expertise is advancing sagebrush restoration in the ...
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SGI’s “Ranching First” Approach Proves Key to Protecting Ranch in Washington
March 10, 2020
The Keane Ranch is now protected from development in perpetuity thanks to a conservation easement supported, in part, by the ...
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Nature’s Engineers: How Beavers Boost Streamflows and Restore Habitat
January 13, 2020
Almost like magic...How beavers boost streamflows and restore habitat with a little help from ...
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Low tech riparian restoration hits the ground in Idaho
November 6, 2019
In Idaho, low-tech stream restoration is taking off, thanks in part, to SGI's workshops and education ...
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Birds of a Feather on Working Lands
August 20, 2019
Read about how Working Lands for Wildlife is benefiting the golden-winged warbler and the greater sage grouse, two bird species that have more in common than ...
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Western Working Lands for Wildlife 2019 Workshop – Rangeland Resiliency
June 25, 2019
Read about the workshop and conference in Twin Falls, Idaho and follow along with the second-day field tour across Idaho and ...
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Conservation Easements Continue to Protect Idaho’s Pioneers-To-Craters Landscape
May 23, 2019
Two new easements protect an additional 2,500 acres of prime sagebrush habitat, adding to area's conservation ...
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Our Amazing Grasslands Video – The Conner Ranch
March 19, 2019
New video highlights the Conner Ranch in Belle Fourche, South Dakota where Dan and Cindi Conner have worked with SGI and other partners to improve their ranch for sage grouse ...
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1,800 Ranchers and Counting!
December 18, 2018
As 2018 comes to a close, the Sage Grouse Initiative caught up with Tim Griffiths, NRCS’s Western Working Lands for Wildlife Coordinator, for a glance back and a peek ...
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Oregon Ranchers Sustain “Heart Of The Desert”
November 12, 2018
Maintaining an “emerald island” in the middle of the desert is no small task. Here’s how the Fitzgeralds do it on their Oregon ...
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#FridaysOnTheFarm | For Future Generations of Ranchers and Sage Grouse
November 2, 2018
Meet David Sceirine, a rancher protecting key wildlife habitat on his family’s ranch near Bridgeport Valley, ...
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Partnering To Conserve A Sagebrush Landscape
October 24, 2018
Innovative partnerships with private landowners and public land managers on working rangelands in Southwest Montana are conserving sagebrush ...
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Meet Leah Mori: Helping Ranchers Weather Wildfire Storms in Nevada’s Sagebrush Sea
August 20, 2018
This story features Leah Mori, a soil conservation technician in Winnemucca, Nevada, who is combating the twin threats of wildfire and ...
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#ConservationRoadtrip | Taking No-Till To The Next Level
July 30, 2018
With help from NRCS, Montana rancher returns cropland to permanent grasses and forbs to provide forage for livestock and sage ...
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Combatting Cheatgrass On Private Ranch Lands In Wyoming Benefits Sage Grouse
July 1, 2018
Wyoming landowner DeWitt Morris is creating a model for other ranchers on how to thwart invasive cheatgrass on Mountain Springs ...
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NEW Story Map Highlights Rural Communities & Positive Partnerships
June 28, 2018
Check out this new story map that highlights the people working together across sagebrush rangeland to protect the places that matter to ...
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Lessons & Photos from SGI’s 8th Annual Workshop: Combating Wildfire & Weeds
June 18, 2018
The 2018 SGI field tour and presentations focused on cooperative, science-based conservation that's working to thwart fire and invasives in sagebrush ...
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#FridaysOnTheFarm: Restoring Sagebrush Country With ‘Modern Wildfire’
June 8, 2018
Through the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI), private landowners across Eastern Oregon are volunteering to perform proactive conservation treatments on their rangeland to promote ...
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Idaho Models “3 C’s”: Collaboration, Cooperation, Conservation
May 8, 2018
In Idaho, agencies and landowners are working together across boundaries to restore sagebrush ...
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FAIR CHASE Magazine | The Value of Sagebrush Country
December 8, 2017
by Josh Millspaugh | This feature in the December 2017 issue of Fair Chase Magazine highlights how sage grouse conservation benefits hunters and a host of wildlife ...
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Healthy Range Is Productive Range For Sage Grouse, Prairie Chickens, And Cows
October 19, 2016
Sage grouse and lesser prairie-chickens both need healthy rangeland to thrive. So do cattle. Learn more about how NRCS is supporting range conservation practices that help ...
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New Easements in Montana Protect the Longest Known Sage Grouse Migration Corridor
June 30, 2016
The Nature Conservancy has secured conservation easements that preserve both the West's ranching heritage and sage-grass habitat on 25,000 acres of the Carroll Ranch. The ...
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New England Cottontail | Another Success Story for Proactive Voluntary Conservation
September 11, 2015
Landowners on the East Coast brought about a major success today with their voluntary conservation efforts for the New England cottontail. Partners announced that foresters ...
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SGI “Outcomes in Conservation” Report Demonstrates Positive Impact of $300 Million Investment in West
March 12, 2015
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today issued a report showing that since 2010 USDA and its partners in the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) have worked with ...
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Keeping It Together: Large Landscape Conservation in the Upper Green River, Wyoming
January 28, 2015
A colossal voluntary effort is keeping the Intermountain West's sagebrush steppe intact, which protects one of the highest density populations of greater sage grouse ...
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Montana Bug Study Investigates Benefits of Prescribed Grazing for Sage Grouse Chicks
June 9, 2014
Hayes Goosey is leading a unique four-year study near Roundup, Montana, to investigate a key part of sage grouse diet in spring and summer, particularly for the growing ...
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Saving Sage Grouse from the Trees: New Study Shows Benefits of Targeted Tree Removal to Declining Birds
September 17, 2013
Proactive conservation that removes encroaching trees helps maintain sage grouse populations within their remaining strongholds, according to a study published today in the ...
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SGI Partnership Works to Conserve International Sage Grouse Migration Corridor
July 29, 2012
Canada's only viable population of sage grouse depends on habitats in two countries. The revelation that the birds migrate 70 to 120 miles south each winter came from USDA ...