Seeing the Future of Rangeland Health in Phillips County: Tour in Malta on Sept. 8-9

Ranchers in Phillips County will showcase their conservation efforts on the 2021 Montana Range Tour taking place in Malta and south Phillips County on September 8th and 9th .

Registration is due on Tuesday, August 31.

The tour will kick off with a registration and breakfast at the Tin Cup Bar and Grill in Malta the morning of September 8th. From there, the group will load buses and head to the Craig and Conni French (C Lazy J) Ranch, south of Malta. Craig and Conni French are the 2020 Leopold Conservation Award winners, and Craig serves on the Phillips Conservation District board as a Supervisor. The Frenches and Patti Armbrister, Agrarian Food Web Consultant, will discuss soil health and dung beetles. Retired NRCS Rangeland Specialist, Rick Caquelin will discuss intensive grazing practices as well that morning.

Lunch will be catered by the Phillips County Cattlewomen at the French ranch, where diners will be treated to a presentation by The Nature Conservancy’s Jason Hanlon on drone usage.

After lunch, Kelsey Molloy, TNC Range Ecologist and Martin Townsend, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Pheasants Forever Coordinating Biologist, will talk about RSA conservation projects as well as cropland restoration projects that have been implemented in Phillips County.

The 2021 Montana Range Tour banquet will take place Wednesday evening at the Tin Cup in Malta. Diners will enjoy a prime rib dinner where the keynote speaker, Dr. Brady Allred, University of Montana Professor will be discussing large-scale wildlife ecology. The 2021 Phillips Conservation District Conservationist of the Year award, as well as the 2021 Leopold Conservation Award winners will be announced.

Day two will begin with a pancake breakfast served by members of the Malta FFA Chapter at the brand-new Malta Readiness Center (Armory). Dr. Julia Haggerty, Associated Professor Resource Geography, Rural Geography, Resilience will be presenting on Rural Socioeconomics.

The tour will then head south to the Leo and Darla Barthelmess Ranch, where Leo and Marisa Sather, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Biologist will showcase Barthelmess’ innovative virtual grazing practices, utilizing eCollars. The tour will conclude with a return to Malta around noon, where guests will be provided a sack lunch.

The annual Montana Range Tour rotates around the state, highlighting excellence and innovation in natural resource stewardship. Phillips Conservation District was originally planning to host the tour in 2020, but due to COVID concerns, the tour was rescheduled to 2021.

“The tour is a great opportunity for landowners, resource management professionals and the public to discuss range management issues and share stories. We’re excited to be hosting this year’s Montana Range Tour and showcasing the innovative conservation efforts our landowners are doing on their places, we’re hoping for a good turnout” said Phillips Conservation District Administrator Jenifer Anderson.

For more information about this year’s tour, contact Anderson at (406)654-1334.

To register online, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-montana-range-tour-tickets- 155825657737. To register by mail, visit http://www.phillipsconservationdistrict.com and click on the “2021 MT Range Tour” tab in the menu.