The Montana Grassland Initiative will benefit a wide range of wildlife, big and small
By Hunter VanDonsel, MT/WY State Coordinator
The first golden rays of sunshine peak through a gap in the clouds, revealing bright pink, red and purple hues on the dark blue clouds.
Grasslands stretch out for miles in every direction gently shifting in the breeze. It finally feels like fall as I step out of the pickup, eager for what the day might bring. The sound of an eager tail hitting the inside of the kennel tells me my dog is as excited to explore as I am. We hurry to get our gear on and briskly walk out through grassland and sagebrush, with noses pointed into the wind and tails excitedly wagging.
My yellow lab, Fletcher, swiftly bounds back and forth tail working faster and faster, I can tell we are in the action, birds flush. Excellent work from Fletcher and mediocre shooting from me results in a mix of Sharptailed Grouse and Hungarian Partridge loaded in the game vest. With tired legs and tongues flopping we make our way back to the truck. Marveling at the opportunities available to us, I think to myself that I want to be able to experience this forever, and I want my children to have this same opportunity as well. The uplands of Montana bring people from across the world to have an opportunity to hunt wild prairie birds in an incredible landscape. We are truly blessed to have landscapes like this.
Loaded up with birds and memories we start heading back home. As we round the corner, I spot a group of four mule deer feeding in a small draw. I pull out my binoculars to get a closer look and spot four sharptailed grouse neatly hidden in the same spot — heads peaking out of the snowberry bushes. It doesn’t get more Montana than that. My mind starts to wander to all the times I’ve seen deer or pronghorn while searching for birds, and all the times I’ve seen grouse while in my favorite mule deer hunting spot. I wonder about the connection between big game and birds as we head down gravel roads back to town.

Big game animals, upland birds, intact sagebrush and grasslands. Does it get more Montana than that? The key to maintaining the upland experience we all love for the long haul will require unique partnerships and projects that uphold all those connections. That was the thought process as Pheasants Forever worked collaboratively with over 16 different federal, state and local partners to pursue funding for a big game habitat improvement project.
With a funding opportunity available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Pheasants Forever successfully was awarded $6.4 million in funding with an additional $6.4 million in leveraged funding through partner efforts. The resulting Big Game Habitat Improvement Project (BIG HIP) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) is available in eight counties in north-central Montana, and covers a land base of over 16 million acres.
This program will result in huge benefits to big game migration corridors and winter ranges. But, although this RCPP is focused on habitat improvement for Big Game such as elk, mule deer and pronghorn, the practices being applied will benefit other grassland-dependent species. The Big Game Habitat Improvement Project RCPP has three main goals: 1) keep grassland habitats intact, 2) restore marginal cropland to perennial grass for long-term grazing use, and 3) remove barriers to wildlife movement. All three of these goals benefit both big game and other wildlife, including birds.
Intact grasslands and sagebrush support wildlife populations, Montana Communities, sportsman, agriculture and so much more. In Montana we are doubling down on grassland conservation through Pheasants Forever’s Montana Grassland Initiative. This initiative aligns our state efforts to make the largest grassland impact possible, leading to healthier landscapes and wildlife populations. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program is one of the great tools in our toolbox that makes the Montana Grassland Initiative possible.