Rest Rotation Grazing System Benefits Land, Wildlife

By Lori Valadez

When you head north of Westby, Montana, you won’t meet a lot of other cars, but you will drive through an area that supports high populations of many wildlife species. With a 2002 Census population estimate of just 3,798, Sheridan County sits at the lower end of the human population scale, but at the upper end for its variety of wildlife populations.

This, said Tim Solberg, resource conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is the reason 875 acres owned by Kent Throntveit was perfect for a Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program project.

Throntveit’s property is part of the glaciated Missouri coteau, an area characterized by a dense mix of freshwater and alkali wetlands, ranging from temporary to semi-permanent in duration. The coteau is well known for its high waterfowl production where grassland/wetland complexes remain intact.

When Throntveit first bought the property, he tried to farm portions of it, but said he soon recognized that it wasn’t the best farmland in the world. “I thought if it was in grass, it would just be easier to manage.” This is an important consideration since Throntveit’s home and the bulk of his farming and ranching operation are near Crosby, North Dakota, 40 miles east of Westby.

So Throntveit worked with Tim Solberg, NRCS; Mike Rabenberg, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetland district manager; and Rick Northrup, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks biologist, to develop a rest rotation grazing system and wildlife habitat on his 875 acres. The plan included:

• incorporating 266 acres of old Conservation Reserve Program land that had been seeded to tame grasses into his current grazing system,
• improving his grazing strategies on both native rangeland and tame pastures by developing a rest rotation grazing system,
• increasing the distribution of his cattle with water developments and cross-fencing to more evenly graze pastures and alternate seasons of use,
• maintaining the integrity of wetlands by offering cattle another alternative for water, which prevents them from concentrating in shoreline springs, critical brood-rearing habitat, and
• enhancing the area’s unique wildlife habitat through the improvements made to his grazing system.

“Developing a grazing system and keeping the CRP in grass made more sense economically and is the best use of this land,” Throntveit said. “On marginal soils like I have, it’s hard for the cropland to pay for itself with the input costs so high.” With a grazing system, he said, the costs are up front and the annual input costs are much lower than that of cropland.

With a price tag for the project at a little more than $40,000, Throntveit said the cost of the project was a huge factor to consider. “Without all of this help, it would have been impossible to take something like this on,” he said.

The primary source of funding for the project came from NRCS’s Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, which provided 75 percent cost-share. Other funding came from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Ducks Unlimited; the North American Wetlands Conservation Council; and Throntveit.

According to Rabenberg, you can find both birds and mammals on Throntveit’s property. “The most common game species in this area include grouse; partridge; waterfowl, ducks in particular; and some white-tailed deer. This property also supports high populations of grassland songbirds, such as the Baird’s sparrow and Sprague’s pipit.”

Asked if he has a lot of hunters requesting permission to hunt on his property, Throntveit laughed and said he has gotten more requests from people who want to come out and look at piping plover, a threatened species.

“Eighty-five percent of all of the piping plovers nesting in Montana are right here in Sheridan County,” Rabenberg said. “We’ve documented 10 pairs of piping plover on this property (Throntveit’s). That’s the highest density in the state.”

Piping plover like to nest on the bare, gravelly shores of naturally occurring alkali lakes, which are scattered throughout Sheridan County. The northeast corner of the county has the highest concentration of alkali lakes in the state.

In addition to being excellent habitat for piping plovers, Sheridan County is also one of the best areas in Montana for breeding waterfowl, Rabenberg said. Documentation shows that the area provides habitat for 80 to 110 pairs of breeding ducks per square mile, the highest density of breeding waterfowl produced in Montana.

“Grasslands adjacent to wetlands are the key to wildlife habitat,” Rabenberg said. “With a rest rotation grazing system, cows and prairie nesting habitat are very compatible.”

Solberg agrees. “This system was designed to use tame pastures during the prime nesting season for waterfowl and other nesting species and allow the native rangeland to rest. Not only does this allow nesting areas to remain undisturbed, it also allows native grasses to increase and improves overall rangeland health.”

Last Modified: 04/11/2004