Photo: Noppadol Paothong
voluntary conservation
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.
Ask an Expert
New Science Backs WLFW’s Biome-Wide Conservation Approach
November 6, 2023
Research shows that WLFW's updated approach to conserving intact working landscapes produces better conservation results than focusing on a single ...
News
USDA Expands Conservation Practices Qualifying for Climate-Smart Funding
October 24, 2023
Learn about the USDA-NRCS's recent expansion of the list of practices and activities eligible for Climate-Smart funding through the Inflation Reduction ...
News
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 ...
News
New Year, New Connections, New Opportunities
January 26, 2022
With two Frameworks for Conservation Action addressing the most pressing threats facing the sagebrush and Great Plains grassland biomes, 2022 promises to be a big year for ...
News
Conserving Prime Hay Ground As Well As Colorado’s Famous Elk and Deer
August 23, 2021
The Etchart Family worked with the NRCS, TNC, and the CO Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust to place much of the ranch in a conservation easement protecting this prime ...
News
Study Demonstrates Importance of Voluntary Conservation for Grassland Birds
July 1, 2021
Study highlights how voluntary conservation protected habitat for 4.5 million grassland songbirds, and boosted populations by 1.8 million ...
Podcast
Podcast: The New Great Plains Grasslands Initiative with NRCS
June 16, 2021
Learn about the USDA-NRCS' Working Lands for Wildlife efforts and the Great Plains Grassland Initiatives in this episode of On the Wing, a podcast from Pheasants Forever and ...
News
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 ...
News
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 ...
News
Sagebrush Framework in Focus: Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
April 22, 2021
Dig into the Framework for Conservation Action in the Sagebrush ...
News
E&E News: USDA plans aim to bolster rangeland wildlife conservation
April 21, 2021
E&E News reports on the Framework for Conservation Action in the Sagebrush Biome. Reprinted with ...
News
Virtual Workshop | Low-Tech Riverscape Restoration – Aug. 11-14, 2020
July 27, 2020
Join WLFW and Utah State University for a free, four-day, virtual workshop focused on low-tech, process-based riverscape ...
News
New Report Highlights Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative Outcomes Since 2010
July 22, 2020
The Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative is a Working Lands for Wildlife effort that is focused on rangeland resiliency in the southern Great Plains. Check out this new report to ...
News
Bugle Magazine | Thinking Like a Beaver
June 26, 2020
Read about how volunteer-led, low-tech, process-based restoration of streams and meadows in the west is helping restore critical habitat for elk and other wildlife in this ...
News
Western Working Lands Snapshot | Pollinators
June 18, 2020
Learn all about pollination and pollinators in this Western Working Lands ...
News
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 ...
News
Montana Outdoors Magazine Article | The Herd and the Bird
March 20, 2020
Magazine Article | This article originally appeared in the March-April 2020 issue of Montana Outdoors, the magazine of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. It is reposted here with ...
News
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 ...
News
PHEASANTS FOREVER Magazine | Of Partners, Promises and Prairie Treasures
February 13, 2020
Magazine Story | Pheasants Forever's Spring 2020 Journal of Upland Conservation features how the nonprofit works with SGI and other partners to benefit a variety of grouse ...
News
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 ...
News
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 ...
News
Quantifying Outcomes Improves Conservation Effectiveness
October 8, 2019
Since 2012, Working Lands for Wildlife has partnered with the Conservation Effects Assessment Project to co-produce 37 peer-reviewed studies that measure conservation ...
News
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 ...
News
Working Lands for Wildlife Initiatives Benefit Songbirds Too!
July 19, 2019
Science to Solutions | New research shows that prairie songbirds benefit from lesser prairie-chicken-focused conservation ...
Sage Whiz Quiz
Sage Whiz Quiz | Ranching
July 8, 2019
How much do you know about ranching in the West? Take this Sage Whiz Quiz and test your ranching ...
Podcast
Podcast: Sage Grouse Biology, Habitat, and How to Hunt Them
June 25, 2019
The On the Wing podcast talks with WLFW's Tim Griffiths and Pheasant Forever's Ron Leathers and Michael Brown about Working Lands for Wildlife's conservation efforts that ...
News
Sustainable Ranching in Utah: A Boon For Wildlife And Livestock
June 12, 2019
Sustainable Ranching in Utah: A Boon for Wildlife and Livestock | Read how Stephen and Kris Ellis keep their family tradition alive and strong on the Circle Bar ...
News
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 ...
News
Bats, Butterflies, Bobwhites and More! New Videos About Working Lands For Wildlife
December 19, 2017
Learn how NRCS has been scaling up the cooperative, science-based conservation model that's working for sagebrush wildlife to focal landscapes across ...
News
Lessons from the Heath Hen
April 3, 2017
From the failed attempt to save heath hens from extinction, we learned the importance of early intervention...and laid the groundwork for cooperative conservation of other ...
News
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 ...
News
USDA Unveils Three-Year Conservation Strategy for Lesser Prairie-Chicken on Working Rangelands
April 28, 2016
Just like in sage grouse country, the recipe for success to save the lesser prairie-chicken (an iconic grassland bird of the southern Great Plains) is investing in proactive, ...
News
Plans To Save Bi-State Sage Grouse in Nevada Gain Momentum
April 12, 2016
By Sean Whaley | “We’re ‘all in’ to make a difference for this bird over the long term,” said Thad Heater, Sage Grouse Initiative's national coordinator, in this ...
News
Historic Conservation Campaign Protects Greater Sage-Grouse | ESA Listing Averted
September 22, 2015
An historic conservation partnership helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determine that the species did not warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. Now in ...
News
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 ...
News
Bi-Partisan Commentary | Voluntary Conservation Works Across Party Lines
September 2, 2015
A new bi-partisan commentary came out yesterday in Roll Call by Bruce Knight and Dave White, both former chiefs for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. These two ...