BILLINGS – Montana has about 68 million acres of range land, which is important to ranchers wildlife and the environment.
The two-day Montana Range Forum in Billings brought together ranchers and government agencies to help identify the best ways of managing that land.
Among the topics Wednesday were brucellosis in elk and bison and how that affects ranchers and what fire and drought do to grazing land.
The Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, Fish Wildlife and Parks and ranchers all play a role in taking care of the land, ranchers said at the Big Horn Resort.
“It’s good for us, our families, the local businesses the wildlife,” said Steve Hedstrom, a rancher and a committee member on Rangeland Committee. “The range lands are one of the most important ecosystems in the word. And if we’re doing it right, our grasses are healthy, our organisms are healthy, we’re in a sustainable environment. and we have that capability. we can do that.”
The Montana Range Forum finishes Thursday with several presentations including one on the Sage Grouse.
Reporting by David Jay for MTN News
