Podcast: Conservation Programs with Tom Watson and Tim Griffiths

Tune in to the two-part podcast from Land Investor to hear how NRCS and Working Lands for Wildlife works with landowners to conserve working lands for the benefit of landowners, their operations, and wildlife.

This fall, Tom Watson, the state conservationist for the USDA-NRCS in Montana, and Tim Griffiths, western lead for Working Lands for Wildlife, sat down with Matt and Ryan from the Land Investor Podcast to talk all things NRCS, Working Lands for Wildlife, and more.

The Land Investor Podcast is geared towards landowners, ranchers, and others who own or manage working lands, so all the episodes have helpful information for people involved in working lands.

The conversation in these two podcasts covers different NRCS programs, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), the history of the Sage Grouse Initiative and Working Lands for Wildlife, the science investments NRCS has made in how to best conserve western rangeland for wildlife and people, how landowners can work with the NRCS and partners, and what benefits these partnerships provide to working lands in the West.

Between them, Tim and Tom have decades of experience in the NRCS and in western conservation generally. Their insights and wisdom are informative and entertaining.

One of the key messages they deliver centers on the once-in-a-generation opportunity landowners now have to partner with the NRCS because of available funding that the agency has for conservation programs like EQIP and ACEP. They both stress that now is a great time for landowners to visit their local NRCS office and learn about these programs.

This podcast is a great listen for:

• Landowners with questions about how the NRCS works and how an NRCS partnership would benefit a working operation,
• Conservation professionals who want to learn more about how the NRCS works with partners to implement conservation in the West,
• Anyone interested in learning more about the NRCS, Working Lands for Wildlife, the threats facing sagebrush country, and the wildlife that share this incredible landscape.

Episode Title: Conservation Programs: Tim Griffiths and Tom Watson

Podcast: Land Investor

Producer: Fay Ranches

WLFW Expert: Tim Griffiths, Western Lead Working Lands for Wildlife | Tom Watson, State Conservationist, Montana

Topic: USDA-NRCS, Working Lands for Wildlife, Landowner Partnerships

Air Date: Part 1 – 11/14/24 | Part 2 – 12/5/24

Listen Time: Part 1 – 47:40 | Part 2 – 52:13

In this episode of the Land Investor podcast, hosts Matt and Ryan are joined by Tim Griffiths, Western Lead for Working Lands for Wildlife, and Tom Watson, Montana State Conservationist for the NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service). Tim and Tom guide us through the conservation and land management resources available to landowners through programs offered by the NRCS and their collaboration with land trusts. They highlight the importance of voluntary, incentive-based programs that help preserve land for agriculture, wildlife habitat, and water conservation, while also supporting landowners in improving the productivity of their operation. This episode scratches the surface on the significance of long-term conservation planning and how federal, state, and local partnerships can address landscape-scale ecological issues.