The mission of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is to promote the ecological, social and economic conditions that will sustain the biodiversity and integrity of America’s northern mixed-grass prairie for present and future generations.

South Phillips County in northern Montana is a place of stark and raw beauty, an undulating sea of grass located between the Missouri River breaks and the Canadian border. It is the home to a small population, many of whom live in the modest ranch houses that, along with the occasional fence, power line or dirt road are the slight indicators of human presence in this wide-open landscape.

The extent and quality of the native mixed grass prairie in Phillips County is unique in North America, making this place a conservation “bullseye” in several global-scale biodiversity assessments including the World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. The strong tradition of good range management among the area’s multi-generational ranch families is largely responsible for the excellent condition of the prairie.

But today, as is true all across the West, the ranching community in Phillips County is threatened. A wide gap exists between the agricultural value of ranches and the prices they sell for in the real estate market, even in areas that aren’t “developing” rapidly. Ranchers often get priced out of the beef market, and because of that, the ranching community is losing some of the prairie ranches that have been stewarded for generations.

Ranchland acquisitions by conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the American Prairie Foundation have simultaneously alarmed and inspired the Phillips County ranching community to actively explore where they might apply their tools, skills and traditions to provide cost-effective, private land stewardship that conserves or restores natural assets, while providing an income and economic base for people on the land.

Sustainable Northwest is working with a new community-based non-profit organization, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, to:

• create a strong, community-led organization to engage in shaping the future of natural resources in Phillips County;

• facilitate dialogue and engagement with conservation groups, federal and state agencies, the business community, and other area stakeholders to identify opportunities for collaboration and mutual-gains outcomes that advance conservation and local economic and social benefit; and,

• explore and/or develop new models of land management and acquisition to ensure that connection between people and land can endure into the future.

We believe Ranchers Stewardship Alliance will be an innovator for ranchland sustainability in the West, and that investment in this community will yield tools and models for many other declining ranch communities elsewhere.