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Northern Montana Prairie

Matador Ranch prairie
Native grassland at the Matador Ranch
© Jim Steinberg

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site

One-half of Eastern Montana holds perhaps the largest and most significant native grassland communities remaining in the Northern Great Plains. South of Malta, in the glaciated plains, is an area of native mixed grass prairie that supports an abundance of wildlife, including black-tailed prairie dogs, swift fox, mountain plover, burrowing owls, pronghorn and the black-footed ferret -- the rarest mammal in the world. Most likely, it is the largest remaining assemblage of these prairie species in the Northern Great Plains.

Threats
The native prairies in this region of the West have declined significantly. In Montana, the greatest threat to native prairie has been conversion to cropland. Also, efforts to improve grassland production through reduced grazing and prairie dog control have altered the habitat for the native animal species.

Animals
In addition to black-tailed prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, pronghorn antelope, swift fox and other mammals, this native prairie supports a great assemblage of grassland birds species. They include mountain plovers, burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, Sprague's pipits, chestnut-collared and McCown's longspurs and long-billed curlews. These species all are dependent on the native prairie and the prairie dog towns.

Our Conservation Strategy
An important way to conserve Montana prairies is to help good ranching stewards stay on the land. The Nature Conservancy is working with area ranchers to develop conservation strategies that are compatible with working ranches.

At the Conservancy's 60,000-acre Matador Ranch in south Phillips County, the goals are to maintain ecologically diverse prairie habitat while managing an economically productive livestock operation.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
Conservancy staff at the Matador Ranch have been working with area ranchers on a new concept that involves the exchange of forage for conservation practices. It's called grassbanking. Participating ranchers graze their cattle on the Matador. In exchange for lowered grazing fees, the participating ranchers agree to a variety of conservation practices on their home ranches. These practices include weed control, maintaining certain levels of prairie dogs, no plowing of native prairie and stewardship certification through the "Undaunted Stewardship" program.