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2020/05/08 - The Montana Conservationist, v14i5

May 8, 2020

The Montana Conservationist May8

 

This week in the Montana Conservationist:

  • The Montana Department of Ag is encouraging Montanans to “Get out and Grow” a garden, with an online campaign and educational materials to help folks along.
  • We’ve got a great story from the Big Hole Watershed Committee about how they worked with BLM to find a new use for root wads that needed to be cleaned up from campgrounds in the Big Hole.
  • UM researchers are urging the US and Canadian governments to address the ongoing problem of mining pollution in transboundary waters.
  • Long understaffed, NRCS is committed to hiring 1,000-plus employees this fiscal year to bolster field offices; welcome news in the collapsing economy.

In science news:

  • Scientists in Arizona are studying the bacterial and fungal communities in soil to understand how microbiomes are impacting agricultural crops.
  • Researchers in Oklahoma are studying the effects of fire and mixed-species grazing to help producers increase forage production and range health.
  • And a new study reports that a sprinkling of rock dust may help improve soil health and crop yield (it’s like a spoonful of sugar, but grittier).
  • As you might have heard, so-called “murder hornets” have arrived in the US, adding one more worry to your local honey bee’s list.

Plus, we’ve got LOTS of grants, a couple of jobs, and plenty of opportunities this week. Read The Montana Conservationist here:

TMC-2020-05-08.pdf