News

Find a Service Center

Managing for Wildlife Habitat and Agricultural Sustainability

Gallatin County, Montana

Managing for Wildlife

Some landowners manage their property for wildlife while others manage for production agriculture. Although each goal has slightly different management implications, both can readily be achieved on the same piece of property with a little forethought and planning.

Over the years, the Leep family has assessed the potential for wildlife habitat on their land, made some minor adjustments to improve that habitat, and reaped the benefits that wildlife can bring. They have done all of this while improving the quality of natural resources on their land and improving their production agriculture operation.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers both technical and financial assistance to eligible landowners with an eye toward improving agricultural sustainability while making the most of opportunities that benefit wildlife and fisheries habitat.

Wildlife Habitat vs. Agricultural Production?

Good wildlife habitat and production agriculture can go hand-in-hand. By considering the overall health of the soil, water, air, plants, and animals, producers can improve economic viability and sustainability of their operation, while also providing exceptional wildlife habitat.

Proper grazing management can lead to healthy riparian areas, which lead to reduced stream bank erosion, which leads to increased water quality, which provides high quality fisheries and wildlife habitat. Healthy stream banks and riparian areas also increase available livestock forage. Deep-rooted native vegetation along streams and in riparian areas helps to provide sustained stream flows that benefit both irrigators and fisheries.

Marginal cropland seeded to perennial vegetation and field borders established around cropland reduce wind and water erosion, provide nesting and hiding cover for wildlife, and eliminates agricultural outputs on lands with unreliable returns.

Using an integrated pest management approach for pest control (including noxious weeds) increases the number of beneficial insects and improves habitat for birds while minimizing unintended consequences sometimes associated with using herbicides.

Planting odd, hard to farm areas to diverse, perennial habitat increases the number of beneficial insects that pollinate crops in addition to providing shelter, food, and travel corridors for wildlife.

Reduced tillage of cropland reduces soil erosion and fuel costs as well as providing hiding and feeding areas for wildlife.

Wildlife Habitat Requirements

Every species of wildlife has a daily and seasonal home range and all requirements of an animal for food, shelter, water, and living space must be found within that area. Vegetative habitat components must be interspersed in a way to provide feeding areas near escape, nesting, and thermal cover. Conservation practices or management changes can be made to remove or reduce the habitat-limiting factors. Your local NRCS office can provide more information about common wildlife habitat improvement practices.

Putting Theory into Practice

The Leep Hay and Grain operation located southwest of Bozeman provides many examples of how a production farm can be operated to benefit wildlife. The nearly 3,000-acre operation is mostly leased land with a crop rotation of irrigated hay and small grains, with potatoes included occasionally.

The Leep brothers have significantly limited the tillage operations on their cropland. When the crop rotation changes from hay to grain, the grain is direct seeded (no-tilled) into the old alfalfa stand without any tillage. After the small grains are harvested, the field is disked once in the fall. This leaves plenty of residue cover to protect the soil from erosion. When new hay stands are established, they are seeded with barley, which provides a quick ground cover. The new alfalfa stands are not harvested the first year, which allows for stand establishment and provides wildlife food and cover.

The Leeps have approximately 100 acres of dryland grain. Of these acres, three are left unharvested to provide wildlife food. These areas are strategically located to minimize the distance of food from cover. Large fields located throughout the farming operation are broken up by irrigation ditches and narrow draws. These draws are not grazed and the irrigation ditches are not burned, which results in wildlife hiding cover, travel corridors, and nesting habitat.

Some low-lying areas in the Leeps’ irrigated land are also managed for wildlife. These areas are sometimes wet, which makes them difficult to farm. As a result, they have been allowed to return to grass cover. Because these areas can be subirrigated or directly irrigated, the grass grows tall and lush, providing excellent wildlife cover.

The Leeps are now participating in the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which is administered by the NRCS. The CSP rewards farmers and ranchers for management decisions that have resulted in improved natural resources on their property. The Leeps’ wildlife habitat improvement efforts contributed to their successful CSP application.

How Might Managing for Wildlife Affect My Operation?

The costs associated with improving habitat diversity are different for each operation and may be indirect costs rather than a direct cash outlay. For example, the cost of not farming odd areas is the value of the production foregone minus the cost of farming that area. Maintaining a minimum 10-inch grain stubble height over the winter provides wildlife cover and increased snow catchment, but may impede tillage and seeding operations the following spring. The cost for unharvested grain is the value of the grain left in the field. Not burning irrigation ditches may impede the flow of irrigation water. Improving riparian vegetation may require fencing and the implementation of a livestock grazing system.

The benefits of healthy landscapes with diverse wildlife habitat characteristics have value, but in most cases, they are not easily measured. For example, improved wildlife habitat can provide improved recreational opportunities such as wildlife viewing, hunting, or fishing. The increase in beneficial insects that pollinate crops like alfalfa for seed production or fruit orchards can help to increase the production of those crops.