United States Department of Agriculture invests $25 million to help protect Montana’s grasslands

Montana’s grasslands are one of the last great intact ecosystems in North America. For decades, landowners, conservationists and communities have watched native prairie disappear acre by acre, taking with it iconic wildlife, cultural heritage and working lands traditions. The Montana Grassland Initiative was created to change that trajectory. The initiative aims to positively impact 1.5 million acres of grassland habitat in five years. Now, with a $25 million investment by the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program, that goal is becoming a reality.  

The USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) provides funding to local conservation initiatives so landowners, state agencies, NGOs and other partners can put effective conservation practices on the ground. Simply put, conservation happens when these different groups pool their knowledge and funding to tackle the challenges wildlife face today. 

“Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is excited to partner with Pheasants Forever on the Montana Grasslands and Wildlife Corridors RCPP,” said Heather Harris, the grassland and wetland coordinator for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “This project empowers Montana’s landowners to conserve intact grasslands and vital migration corridors—habitats essential for wildlife, from big game to grassland birds and sage-grouse.” 

Over the next five years, this funding will support conservation and stewardship across 120,000 acres of working lands and wildlife habitat. Projects are selected by a panel of conservation experts from Pheasants Forever, USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and others. The projects will be ranked based on how much positive impact each potential project will have for critical grassland habitats. It's expected that  $5-7 million in financial assistance to landowners will be allocated during the first batching period. 

Pheasants Forever is helping get the word out to landowners about funding available through RCPP. PF conservation delivery staff are reaching over 100 landowners each month. They also produced four landowner testimonials for release on social media and other outlets to showcase landowner perspectives around grassland conservation. Two rounds of targeted radio advertising were released in key geographies to drive landowners to apply.

The RCPP award is a beginning, not a finish line. This funding will kickstart Montana Grassland Initiative’s work restoring altered prairie to functioning habitat, expanding public access and outdoor opportunity, mobilizing new philanthropic and private investment and strengthening the economic resilience of rural communities. Most importantly, it demonstrates that Montana’s grasslands are not a story of decline — they are a story of possibility. With the right partners and the right resources, we can protect one of the most iconic landscapes in the American West for generations to come.