Tony and Diane Stobiecki partner with the Sage Grouse Initiative to improve habitat for wildlife and their ranch’s bottom line by putting in place projects that improve water delivery, riparian habitat, and rangeland forage.

“Our belief is that we need to make things better, and leave a legacy for our kids and our grandkids and the neighborhood as a whole,” says Oregon rancher Mark Bennett. Read more about Mark and Patti Bennett, who have partnered with the Sage Grouse Initiative to conserve land and water resources on the sagebrush sea.

Pat and Sharon O’Toole make their living by ranching on the sagebrush sea along the Wyoming-Colorado border. They raise sheep and cattle, sage grouse and trout, as well as children and grandchildren on their Ladder Ranch. Read more here.

Landowners on the East Coast brought about a major success today with their voluntary conservation efforts for the New England cottontail. Partners announced that foresters and farmers have helped prevent the need to list the New England cottontail under the Endangered Species Act.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of the Sand County Foundation’s publication “Stories From The Range,” which features six different ranchers’ sage grouse conservation successes, including SGI projects.

The NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative partners with private landowners to put in place conservation projects like these examples, which will protect the sagebrush sea, western rangeland, and all of the people and wildlife who depend upon these landscapes.

Oregon Public Broadcasting ran an excellent video story about sage grouse on Oregon Field Guide, which is nominated for a Northwest Regional Emmy Award. The video, produced by Vince Patton, stars SGI biologist, Jeremy Maestas, who guides viewers on an action-packed tour of a high-desert lek at dawn.

Seeing sage grouse inspires the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust —a Sage Grouse Initiative partner. CCALT has protected more than 45,000 acres of sage grouse habitat on working ranches.