July 25, 2019

Greetings, TMC readers! We return to your regularly scheduled, full length edition of TMC today. It took two peach milkshakes to get this edition together, but here we are. Without further ado:

• Montana Range Days was held last week in Beaverhead County. We’ve got a great writeup on the event and the results.
• A new study has found micro plastic pollution in every one of ten Montana waterbodies surveyed. It’s not just an oceanic problem.
• The Prairie Populist’s Laura Nowlin sings the praises of efforts to protect working ranches, and the songbirds that depend on rangeland habitat.
• A duo of MSU researchers are studying the benefits of using sheep grazing to reduce tillage in vegetable production. I, for one, am fully in favor of vegetables with my leg of lamb.
• Employees at the USDA Economic Research Service say that the impending move of the agency from DC to Kansas City is gutting the agency, which provides information on food prices and farm forecasts.
• Montana ranchers can now get paid to sequester carbon, thanks to a program with Western Sustainability Exchange.
• And in truly buzz-worthy news (cringe, sorry) a recent study has documented more native bumble bees in Montana than have been found in any other state.

All of that, plus jobs & opportunities galore! Read this week’s edition of The Montana Conservationist: