The Nature Conservancy in Montana

08/31/2026

Restoring nature supports rural jobs! 👷 For example, TNC is working with local partners in western Montana to demonstrate how restoring nature can support rural jobs. If sawmills can receive a steady supply of reasonably priced logs generated by restoration projects, they can, in turn, offer stable employment. These jobs are a game changer in the rural West, where people have historically had to make the hard choice to leave their families for opportunities elsewhere when work becomes scarce.

Discover how investing in nature creates rewarding work and boosts local economies 👉 https://nature.ly/4w3n4kk

📷 Jeremy Roberts

08/28/2026

Here in the West, investing in nature has a big impact on our food and water. 🍅💧At TNC’s Matador Ranch here in Montana, ranchers can access an affordable “grassbank” in exchange for conservation practices on their own lands. Together, these efforts reduce costs, rest pastures and improve long-term productivity, strengthening ranch operations while sustaining native grasslands and wildlife.

In partnership with producers, TNC is supporting practices that improve efficiency, strengthen local economies and protect resources for future generations. 🔗 Learn more about 5 Ways Investing in Nature Pays Off: https://nature.ly/4w3n4kk.

📷 Ami Vitale

08/27/2026

As the West faces bigger, more destructive fires and a hotter climate, some forests may never recover after a fire. 🔥 By one estimate, 40% of Western conifer forests may turn into shrubland by 2100. In a New York Times story, discover what scientists across the West are seeing as forests increasingly struggle to regenerate.

The risk is real, yet we can take action: The Nature Conservancy in Montana partnered with the Forest Service and University of Montana to understand how “assisted migration”—helping forests reseed with trees of the same species that grow at lower, warmer elevations and have slightly different genetics as a result—could give Montana trees like the larch a leg up to regenerate the forest in this new era of fire. 🌲

Read the New York Times story: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/climate/wildfire-forest-loss-california-southwest.html

08/26/2026

The end of the lazy summer is coming to an end for pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) in the West. In August, these mammals —known as the fastest land mammal in the Americas—transition into a livelier routine where adult bucks begin sizing each other up and establishing territories. During this livelier, pre rut behavior, it is not uncommon to hear grunting and witness sparring that represents a segway into their breeding season.

📷 Alan D. Wilson/Creative Commons

08/25/2026

The Roadless Rule—which is now in danger of being repealed—is a powerhouse for the outdoor recreation economy. 🚨

Every year, millions of people enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, using ATVs and more in the nearly 60 million acres of national forest and national grassland that the Roadless Rule helps to protect, including roughly six million acres in Montana. These areas also offer crucial habitat for trout, elk, mule deer and other fish and game.

Learn more about the proposed repeal: https://nature.ly/3UgwevW 📝
Photo by Steven Gnam

08/24/2026

🌳 More trees doesn’t always mean a healthier forest. In Montana and across the dry West, decades of fire suppression have led to forests becoming choked with smaller trees and brush—a recipe for severe wildfires. In Idaho, logger Mark Mahon is helping protect forests for future generations. By thinning overly dense forests and clearing out some of the deadfall in fire-swept areas, he’s helping reduce wildfire risk while contributing to the rural communities and local economies that depend on them. The Nature Conservancy employs loggers like Mark here in Montana, too, to do targeted forest thinning and restore our forests. https://nature.ly/4pZB2S1

A fourth-generation family logging business is on a mission to prot...

08/21/2026

We don't have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. ☀️💸 Across the Western U.S. and Canada, including here in Montana, we're making investments that not only protect nature, but also support local businesses, sustain livelihoods and strengthen communities.

In The Nature Conservancy's new feature, “5 Ways Investing in Nature Pays Off,” discover local projects throughout the West that are making meaningful returns: https://nature.ly/4w3n4kk

08/19/2026

Did it suddenly get a little quieter around here? 🎶🐦 This time of year, songbird activity across the West begins to shift from the sounds of breeding and nesting to a quieter preparation for long distance travel required for fall migration. Birds like the Wilson's warbler (Candellina pusilla), pictured here, are wrapping up their breeding season in higher mountain areas before relocating to Mexico and Central America.

📷 National Park Service

08/16/2026

Open trails.
Wide rivers.
Night skies that still feel wild.

America's public lands are part of who we are. And they're worth defending.

But right now, some elected leaders are trying to sell off our public lands and cut funding that protects them. We've stopped these efforts before—and we can do it again. But only if we keep speaking up.

🤚Tell Congress: keep public lands in public hands: https://nature.ly/4wRpUtm

📷 Goodluz/Shutterstock

08/12/2026

This time of year, our rivers and streams might be running low, but many fish species are still looking for a good meal, including Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri). 🐟 Native in the western United States, and considered a keystone species in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, these fish once traveled throughout an estimated 17,800 miles of rivers and streams and inhabited lakes throughout Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and into portions of Utah and Nevada. 💧 While lake populations remain stable, Yellowstone cutthroat trout occupy only 43% of their historical river and stream habitat. Since they are sensitive to warmer water temperatures, pollution and damage to habitat, The Nature Conservancy works with a variety of partners to secure and conserve lands, especially near spawning areas, that will buffer rivers and streams to provide shade, hinder erosion and welcome insects key to supporting the species. 🦗

📷 Mark Haring