Trader’s Dispatch, November 2012 — Page C50
Old Cars Wanted
Looking to buy old cars, trucks and parts up to 1974. Call Wayne 406-214-5910 (cell) or 406-821-0300 (home)
low boy service
40-ton RGN for hire to transport machinery, tractors, etc. up to 60,000 lbs. 48-ft. stepdecks also available. Montana & surrounding states, insured & experienced. Call Roger or Larry at Roger Rader Inc., Sun River, MT 406-264-5475
Full Service Ag Repair Starter – Generator – Alternator Service Air Conditioning Welding
Quality Work – Reasonable Rates
Dave’s Repair LLC
West Post Creek Road, Charlo, Montana Business cell phone 370-6229 - Home (406) 644-2241
Japanese 4x4 Mini Trucks In Stock Now!!
40- to 50-miles per gallon! Clean, low mile trucks in stock.
Call 406-434-2005 Delivery available! Visit us at: www.tomsminitrucks.com
2008 TYM 4x4 loader 292 hours, 58 hp Cat diesel, 3-point, live PTO, enclosed cab, air conditioning, power steering, quick attach 72” bucket, remote hydraulics front and rear...................... $26,500
2006 Cat 216B skidsteer Series 2, 51 hp diesel, 1500 lb. lift capacity, 60” bucket, Mighty Mite 8-ft. full hydraulic road grader attachment, 385 hours, like new...................... $26,500
2005 Ingersoll-Rand SD45 vibratory roller, 54” smooth drum, 3.3 Cummins, 236 hours, 10,500 lb class, like new......... ................................... $32,500
Clark 175B 41/2 yard Articulated Loader 8v71 Detroit, 26.5x25 tires, runs good, strong transmission and hydraulics, 3rd valve with log forks.......................$11,500 1989 International S1600 dump, 7.3 diesel, 5 speed, 2 speed rear, power hydraulic brakes, power steering, 75% 22.5 tires, 14-ft. dump flatbed, removable sides, runs and drives great, under CDL.$5500
406-381-3159 or 777-7057
Targeted grazing employs livestock to groom habitat for desirable plants and wildlife. Here, a Targhee-cross workforce gobbles up bindweed from Montana hay meadows while also producing high-quality wool and delicious lamb. Photo courtesy Linda Poole.
Grazing for wildlife on Montana’s northern prairie By Linda Poole, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
What is the ultimate tool in grooming habitat for native prairie wildlife? According to a bevy of rangeland experts and practitioners speaking at a recent tour of south Phillips County, Montana, wellmanaged livestock grazing is the key to benefitting everything from prairie songbirds to big game like pronghorn and elk. Local economies win too, with sustainable grazing management of public and private lands. On September 20, 2012, 55 people gathered near Zortman, Montana, for a 50 mile tour loop to examine grazing successes by local ranchers and their agency partners. Hosted by the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (a rancher-led conservation nonprofit) and Montana State University Extension, the tour audience was a diverse mix of ranchers, environmental advocates, and staff from state and federal resource management agencies. Many members of the CMR National Wildlife Refuge Community Working Group attended as a step toward understanding potentials for grazing management on and around the 1.1 million acre refuge. “Everyone here cares deeply about the land and wildlife and strong local economies,” began Linda Poole of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance. “But we differ in how we prioritize those things. The purpose of today’s tour is to share site-specific knowledge on various grazing practices, and how they affect people and the land.” Tour speakers included staff from NRCS, MSU Extension, BLM, The Nature Conservancy, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance as well as ranchers whose families have been perfecting their range management over four or five generations. “No longer do we look at livestock grazing being a tolerable use of rangelands,” said Dr. Jim Knight, Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist at Montana State University. “We now know livestock grazing is a necessary tool to develop and maintain quality habitat for most rangeland wildlife species.” Dr. Knight used sage-grouse as an example. “Livestock grazing removes decadent grasses, which allows sunlight to penetrate to the ground so forbs can thrive. These small, broadleaf plants are extremely important as a quality nutrient source for wildlife such as sage-grouse, pronghorn antelope, deer, prairie dogs and many others.” “Forbs are high in crude protein, calcium
and phosphorus,” he continued. “Nesting sage-grouse diets consist of more than 50% forbs. Grazing management is crucial because chick survival is the driving force of sage-grouse populations.” Rancher and conservation award winner Dale Veseth followed up with his thoughts from 30+ years of research and management experience. “You can use livestock to get just about any outcome you want in terms of vegetation for wildlife. There are only two basic tools that managers can use: disturbance and recovery. The trick is to use the right amount of each to meet your individual landscape goals.” Veseth pointed out vegetation patterns on the surrounding land. “Long-term rest leads to monocultures of old, wolfy grass that eventually burn, killing all the big sagebrush. Anywhere you don’t want sagebrush, fire is a useful tool. And so long as you don’t want biodiversity, long-term rest is a good tool too.” Much of the tour traversed The Nature Conservancy’s Matador Ranch and Grassbank. Biodiversity and wildlife conservation are TNC’s goals, said Linda Poole. She was hired by TNC as the first manager of the 60,000 working ranch / wildlife reserve when they purchased the Matador in 2000. Poole left TNC to work with the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance in 2008, but continues to support the partnership of ranchers and conservationists at the Matador Ranch. “Livestock grazing isn’t a goal at the Matador, but it is the primary tool for creating a haven for native wildlife here,” said Poole. “Each pasture has a different management prescription for grazing and fire geared to habitat needs of wildlife in that area. Some pastures receive light grazing use in the fall to conserve nesting cover for sage-grouse, while elsewhere, cattle are concentrated during the growing season to create short-grass carpets favored by longbilled curlews and prairie dogs. “There is no one recipe that can be applied everywhere to get good results. This ‘chaos grazing system’ shakes up the timing, intensity and duration of grazing as necessary to get just what the wildlife needs,” said Poole. “You can have outstanding success or resounding failures with grazing, and the difference between the two is having good managers out on the land with the flexibility to tweak plans to fit reality.” continued on page c52