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Recovery: Producers could use burns ■ Continued from page A1 This way, no pasture grasses are stressed at the same time in their growth pattern each year, allowing for a more well-rounded array of native plants to thrive. “Here I’d really appreciate if you’d put in capital letters if you could, regardless of all of this, if we use each pasture at a different season each successive year — one year we graze it in spring, one year graze it in summer, another in fall another year in winter — then we’re getting into that rotation pattern where the pastures themselves are healthy enough to withstand wildfire.” But once a pasture is hit by wildfire, it changes everything for a while until the ecology is healthy again, he said. In general, livestock should be kept off the burn areas for two years, he said, or longer in areas burned more deeply. The exception to this is in pastures with northern mix grasses that burned quickly and start coming back next spring. “If we stay on the northern mix grass you can burn a pasture in mid summer of 2017 and be back on it in fall of 2018 without any negative impact,” he said. “One study showed that you can even go in in spring with light grazing and not set it back.” But some pastures might require spot fencing of small areas that cattle need to stay off of for a longer period. In riparian areas, by the third year producers can put cattle on the pasture in a rotation, such as in late June graze 35 percent of available forage, pull livestock out of the pas-

ture for a minimum 45 to 60 days in July and August then can go in and take another 35 percent in September, Marlow said. This effectively grazes off 70 percent of the pasture, “which is good for my cattle and good for my billfold, but, because it did it in these light grazing bouts with sufficient recovery time between them, the riparian community comes blasting through.” In the end, Marlow said, he recommends adding pasture burning to the normal way of doing business as a way to keep rangeland healthy by mimicking the bison/wildfire grazing rotation system that the native grasslands evolved under over the millennia. His recommendation is to do controlled burns in late March or early April when pastures still have a little snow in the shadows behind clumps of grass or sage brush, and the ground is wet or, if there is no snow, when kneeling on ground still creates a wet spot on the knees. The moisture protects vegetation. Wildfires come, though, in their own time, but once the land recovers from wildfire, producers can start introducing burning as a way to keep pastures healthy, and a way to mitigate the effects should a wildfire come again in the future. “They know their property, they know their weather patterns, they can start experimenting with a 20-acre patch with their cows and fire,” Marlow said, “and pretty soon they’re burning a third of their ranch and making it work.”

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The 22,000-acre East Fork Fire burned range land for many Bear Paw Mountain ranchers and threatened that of many more, but burned areas in the longterm could be beneficial to the range land and some relief may be available for ranchers in the short term, said a range researcher at Montana State University. Although the fire brought immediate pasture devastation and financial hardships, the outcomes for range lands can be good if affected producers can find a way to keep the stress off burned areas until they recover, Clayton Marlow, professor of range sciences at MSU, said. Right now, landowners can get an idea of the damage to their pasture and start formulating a recovery plan based on that assessment, starting by looking at the ash left by the fire because this indicates the temperature and duration of the fire. “Any place you have gray and white ash it was hot,” Marlow said, but “black ash? OK. No problem.” The black ash indicates the fire went through with some degree of speed, and fall moisture will likely bring on some green sprouts, he said. Ted Crowley, who owns the Crowley-Young Ranch with his wife Barb in the Clear Creek Drainage, said that after the one and eight-tenths inches of rain they received Sept. 14-16, he has already found green sprouts of new grass in some of the 8,500 acres that burned on his place. This growth has come despite the severe drought conditions which hit even before the wildfire took about 45 percent of his pasture —

Pam Burke community@havredailynews.com Producers with rangeland affected by the fire — whether pastures, shelters and water sources were burned, disturbed by firebreaks or traffic from firefighting equipment, or stressed by overuse from changes in grazing rotation and drought — can get help from local sources. Montana State University Extension agents, USDA Natural Resources and C o n s e r va t i o n o f f i c e s, t h e N o r t h e r n Agricultural Research Center and county weed districts can provide information on rangeland recovery, or point producers in the direction of the best help. To find out what programs are available for material and financial support, producers can contact the USDA Farm Services Agency or Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation about the following information.

Havre Daily News/Floyd Brandt Smoke from a still-burning area in the East Fork Fire rises Sept. 6 in front of a hillside covered in black ash in the Bear Paw Mountains.

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Fire recovery resources available

East Fork Fire raises challenges and opportunities for recovery Pam Burke community@havredailynews.com

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FSA Even before the fire, Hill County producers were approved for FSA’s Livestock Forage Program based on the drought throughout the region and ranchers affected by fire would be covered, said Les Rispens, executive director of the Hill County FSA Office “Participation typically among livestock producers is lower than among the farming community,” Rispens said, but “hopefully we

can get livestock producers a little more comfortable.” The Livestock Forage Program gives cash payment to ranchers based on lost grazing — as long as the producer reported last fall having grass land used for grazing. Rispens also said he received word Sept. 25 that Hill County was approved for the Emergency Conservation Program that is targeted directly at producers impacted by the fire. It provides 75 percent cost-share assistance toward the recovery of conservation assets. This includes fences and livestock water facilities, like spring development, lost in fire, as well as some help with shelter areas. That gives them a little bit of assistance getting the ground ready to be used for grazing when the grass grows back next spring, he said. Emergency Livestock Assistance Program pays for lost grazing due to fire, Rispens said, and that actually is a direct calculation of how many acres they lost and how many cows that land might carry. ELAP also assists people who lost haystacks in the fire with the cost of replacing that feed and, if during this coming winter they have to purchase feed above their normal levels of purchase, it will provide some assistance to them to help defray those costs, he said. Rispens said he is also working on one more program, Emergency Forestry Restoration Program, which will help with

replanting trees and shrubs to re-establish habitat and livestock shelter. Livestock producers, historically, were not included in farm bills and only received ad hoc program assistance, but this has changed to their benefit in the past seven or eight years, Rispens said. Replacing feed and fences and watering systems can cost several thousand dollars, even if supplies are donated, he said, but the livestock community now has access to programs that can ease this economic hit. “It’s a real economic loss, and I hope that people can see that these programs are — you know they all pay taxes to support these programs and from time to time when you need to collect on them that’s what they’re there for,” Rispens said, adding that they “pay taxes over the years of their lifetime, paying taxes to support these programs. They’ve helped other people and now it’s their turn to receive some assistance and help get their ground back into production and get their livestock operations back up and producing.” Rispens said he will be sending information to producers hit by the East Fork Fire to let them know what programs are available and invite them to a meeting that will cover all those programs available. In the meantime, he said, people can contact him at 265-6792, ext. 2. DNRC For ranchers considering a loan to make

r a n g e l a n d i m p r ove m e n t s, M o n t a n a Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is offering reduced interest rates for Rangeland Improvement Loans, down from 3 percent to 1.5 percent. “It’s been a challenging summer for our farmers and ranchers,” said Stacey Barta, Rangeland Resources program coordinator with DNRC in a press release. “The state’s Rangeland Resources Executive Committee requested the interest rate reduction to support producers dealing with the impacts of wildfires and drought.” The low-interest loan program covers rangeland improvement and development projects such as water storage, fencing and stock water tanks. Barta said the projects often improve streams and riparian areas and rangeland health, which in turn benefit wildlife, combat invasive weeds and reduce soil erosion. The maximum loan amount is $75,000, with repayment scheduled for a maximum of 10 years with annual installments, the release said. Producers apply to their local Conservation District; the application is then reviewed by DNRC. For more details, contact Bill Herbolich with DNRC at 406-444-6668, or visit http:// dnrc.mt.gov/divisions/cardd/conservation-districts/range-improvement-loan-program.

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Recovery: Pasture rotation can help reduce the chance of future fires ■ Continued from page A1 Marlow said, was fire as a natural part of the grazing rotation, but since the homestead days, when ranchers and farmers built homes, barns and fences that they wanted to protect, the natural and healthy cycle of range rejuvenation has been disrupted. “Contrary to what some people say, bison have the same impact cattle do. They just had 40,000 square miles to graze, and we make cattle graze on 4,000 acres,” he said, adding that “technically, with good rotation grazing or deferred rotation with cattle, you can do the same thing.” When bison roamed the area, nature had its own rest-grazing rotation system, he said. Bison would move into an area with strong new grass growth, graze until the the grass got ahead of them with accumulated old growth, then fire would clean out the area and the bison would move on to the next area that had recovered enough from the last wildfire to have good, strong new growth. This pattern repeated. The fires would come through quickly and lightly because the area didn’t have enough time to accumulate litter in grassy bunches and brush, and this meant that the grasses came back quickly, he said. Marlow, who has done range work in the Bear Paws, said grasses, like rough fescue or Idaho fescue, that grow in the area can build up enough litter that when old-growth, ungrazed, plants finally burn, it can be devas-

Prevent weed spread from donated hay From U.S. Department of Agriculture Hay donated to wildfire areas — or hay purchased from an outside source — can contain noxious and invasive weed species, insect pests, and plant diseases from other locations in Montana and from states where it was grown. Use the following resources to identify unknown plants, insects and disease and prevent their spread. Best Management Practices se donated hay in an area that can be easily monitored for new weed species. Document where new weed species are located, then follow-up with weed control and monitoring; monitor for several years. Treat weeds before they produce seed. Remove and dispose of weed seed that become established. Defer moving livestock through an area with a new weed species until it is removed or contained. tating to pastures “And those great big clumps of rough fescue that don’t get grazed you could probably go out there right now and find craters in the ground where these plants burned so hot that

Ask where the hay was grown/donated from, if possible.View distribution maps of weeds in Montana and the West to get an idea of potential weed threats from donated hay. https://www.eddmaps.org/west/ distribution/ Use certified weed free forage, if available. Collect unknown plants for identification (collect the entire plant and roots). For help with identification, take the plant to your county weed district, Natural Resources Conservation Service office, E x t e n s i o n a g e n t , M o n t a n a Ra n g e Partnership, or submit a sample to M o n ta n a S ta t e U n i ve rs i t y S c h u t t e r Diagnostic Lab for identification. This is a free service for Montana residents. Find contact information, submission instructions, fee information, and forms online at www.diagnostics.montana.edu.Insect pests and plant diseases can also be sent to the Schutter Diagnostic Lab for identification. Identify Montana Noxious Weeds. See this guide to Montana Noxious Weeds as a reference. http://msuextension.org/publications/AgandNaturalResources/EB0159. pdf it burned clear down in their root system, so now those plants are completely gone,” he said. “And in those circumstances it’s going to take five and six years of almost no grazing. And possibly, where it burned really hot

For More Information Natural Resoures Conservation Service field office in your county — https://www. nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/mt/ contact/ County Weed District — http://mtweed. org/find-weed-coordinator/ County Extension Agent — http:// msuextension.org/localoffices.cfm Montana State University Schutter Diagnostic Lab — http://diagnostics.montana.edu/ Hay Hotline, Montana Department of Agriculture 406-444-3144, agr@mt.gov or http://agr.mt.gov/Hay-Hotline Montana Weed Seed Free Forage 406444-7819 or http://agr.mt.gov/NoxiousWeed-Seed-Free-Forage Montana Rangeland Partnership estandley@macdnet.org cschuldt@macdnet.org http://www.montanarangelandspartnership.org —— Montana Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service collaborated on this release. they’re going to have to go in and reseed it.” Overgrazing is another issue Marlow said makes pastures more vulnerable to fire, but not just in the sense of keeping livestock on a pasture so long that vegetation is grazed down to the ground. Overgrazing of another kind occurs when livestock are turned onto specific pastures during the same time of year, every year. “You’ll probably have your tires slashed and I’ll get hate mail, but calving pastures are a good example,” he said. “Year after year after year we use that pasture at the same time every year and that sets the plant community back, so now when the calving pasture burns there’s really nothing to come back, whether it’s a long time or not.” Areas grazed to poor ecological condition will have a hard time recovering from fire damage, he said, but producers can emulate that natural grazing rotation from the freeroaming bison era to improve pasture growth.

Rotation

In a normal situation, Marlow said, he likes to think of grazing rotation in years rather than seasons. As an example, a producer might do calving season and weaning in pasture A; summer grazing in pasture B; fall in pasture C; and winter in pasture D, then do this the same way the next year. Marlow would recommend first that pasture A be split in two — or two pastures be set aside — so that in above example calving would occur in pasture A1 and weaning in A2. The following year, that would swap to have calving in A2 and weaning in A1, and rotation in the other pastures would move summer grazing to pasture C; fall grazing to pasture D; and winter to pasture B.

■ See Recovery Page 10

www.havredailynews.com almost all of his fall and winter pasture, which he said hadn’t been grazed much yet. The white and gray ash in an area, though, means extensive damage was done to the native plants, Marlow said. These are likely areas with thick brush, close-growing trees, and buildup of grassy bunches of what Marlow calls litter, dried plant matter that was either blown in or grew and died there in clumping grasses. “The more severe the area has burned the more weeds you’re going to get,” he added. Aside from any weeds that might have been growing there already, producers are likely to see cheat grass, mustard, some brome or maybe yellow-blossom sweet clover. Though these severely burned areas may need to be reseeded, Marlow said, he cautioned against disturbing the ground unnecessarily because that could cause worse weed growth. “My experience has been, in most of Montana, if you can keep the plow out of the ground, you’re not going to deal with weeds,” he said. The key is to give the areas of low damage two years of rest — with only brief, light grazing if the grasses are coming in well — and at least three years rest for areas with heavy damage. If the pasture is northern mix grass, “you can burn a pasture in mid-summer of 2017 and be back on it in fall of 2018 without any negative impact. One study showed that you can even go in in spring with light grazing and not set it back,” he said. “(The weeds) will come in pretty quickly after the fire and that’s why you really need to give those native grasses that first couple

FARM & RANCH

October 2017

Erosion

Havre Daily News/Floyd Brandt White ash blankets the ground Sept. 4 in a pasture burned by the East Fork Fire. White ash indicates severe damage to any vegetation. of springs without any grazing, so they can recover, regrow and push the weeds out, and by the third year you don’t have much of a weed problem,” he added. Aside from not working the ground, Marlow’s only other major caution was about fertilizing. “Absolutely do not fertilize,” he said “because if you fertilize, all you’re going to end up with is cheat grass, and brome and

mustards — because cheat grass really likes free nitrogen and after a fire there is a lot of free nitrogen. Native plants evolved without nitrogen.”

Ecology 101

What native plants did evolve with,

■ See Recovery Page 10

If the area wasn’t badly overgrazed before fire or badly under grazed with lots of litter to burn producers will see a little increased erosion first year, a little less the second year and by third nothing dramatic, Marlow said. He recommended letting erosion go as long as it wasn’t threatening a waterway or structure. In badly burned areas landowners will see erosion, probably have to look at measures that will protect structures like culverts and stop head cuts in drainages, but out on the range still let it go because protections like straw mats will promote weed growth.

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The Month in Weather BRANDON BIGELBACH FOR FARM & RANCH Fall has ďŹ nally arrived for northeast Montana, and the transition from summer-like conditions to fall-like conditions was extremely fast. A large shift in the weather pattern over the U.S. allowed for numerous low-pressure systems to pass over the state this past month. This meant a very welcome return of some precipitation, much cooler temperatures, and more consistent cloud cover. For September, 24 days of the month saw maximum wind speeds less than 25 mph. Sept. 20 saw the greatest sustained winds at 28 mph, and Sept. 4 recorded the highest wind gusts for the month at 36 mph. With the large pattern shift, ďŹ re season has begun to wind down over the region, but the ďŹ rst half of the month saw some days where dense smoke from wildďŹ res out west drifted over the region and stuck around for a couple of days, reducing visibility and causing some health issues. As of press date, per the National Weather Service in Glasgow, the highest observed

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JUSTIN SCHAAF FOR FARM & RANCH Eastern Montana hunters donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the luxury of vast national forests covering the landscape. We rely on private landowners and smaller tracts of public land for our opportunities. In order to increase our access, and be good neighbors with our friends, family members and neighbors who own ranches and farms, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks had the idea of helping coordinate access onto private land. The State of Montana developed their own hunting access program, Block Management. The program has secured access to 7.3 million acres of private land to date; an area larger than Vermont. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good partnership between hunters, landowners and our state wildlife management agency. Those partnerships are paying off during one of the driest years in Montanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my example: The Loomis family homestead northwest of Brusett, Montana, overlooks the Missouri Breaks and Seven Blackfoot Creek. Elbert

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Rural Sisterhood: Rain, Snow, Mud

Loomisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mother, June, enrolled the ranch in Block Management in 2005 and has her tenyear enrollment plaque hung on the wall to show the continued cooperation between the Loomis family and Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks. When the month of June came and went with the rain gauge registering under a sixth of an inch for the month, I was worried about how this would affect my upcoming hunting season. Elbert was worrying about how to provide enough grazing for cattle and the health of his land. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every year from May to June for about two weeks, Eastern Montana greens up so much it is nearly unrecognizable from the other ďŹ fty weeks of the year. For this year, those two weeks never came,â&#x20AC;? Elbert claims. The Loomis family continued to wait for the gauge to start working, for the wheat ďŹ elds to sprout. During the wait the Lodgepole Complex ďŹ re ravaged the area, ultimately stopping less than 10 miles from Elbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s See HUNTING SEASON Page 6

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temperature for the month was 93 degrees on Sept. 8, and the lowest was 36 degrees on Sept. 26. The total liquid precipitation reported at Glasgow was 1.12â&#x20AC;?, which was approximately 0.3â&#x20AC;? above normal, ending the streak of ďŹ ve months of reporting belownormal precipitation. Over a 24-hour period, the greatest precipitation total was 0.44â&#x20AC;?, which occurred on Sept. 15. The overall mean temperature for the month was approximately 59 degrees, which was approximately half a degree below normal. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor was released on Sept. 21. The state is still feeling the effects of this substantial drought. Over 98 percent of the state was classiďŹ ed as at least Abnormally Dry, and over 86 percent of the state reported moderate drought or worse conditions. For the northeast part of the state, the only real improvement was to Wibaux and far southern Richland County, where conditions have improved to Severe Drought. The rest of the region is in at least Extreme Drought, with well over half the region reporting Exceptional Drought, the worst of the drought categories.

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A row of birds takes in a view of rain clouds north of Nashua, Mont. ELIZABETH SHIPSTEAD FOR FARM & RANCH After days and days of waiting for and praying for rain, glorious, refreshing, cool rain began to fall from the sky. Snow came to the mountains, fires were considerably slowed, and the sky was cleared of smoke! Praise God! I have never, ever, been so grateful for grey skies, suddenly and exceptionally cool nights, and rain! The animals seemed to be basking in it as well, even with the rather sudden and large temperature swing, which has to be leaving them less prepared for the chill! My girls thoroughly enjoyed jumping in the puddles, playing with umbrellas and experiencing the weight of the clay like mud that stuck to their boots! In the past few months I have written a lot about waiting for rain, waiting on God, and having faith that our needs will be met. But I recently have realized that I might have been waiting on the wrong thing. I thought I was waiting on God, but my prayers always focused on what I wanted from Him whether it was rain, more energy,

safety from ďŹ re, etc. Not that we shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bring our cares and concerns to God or that He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about the things that keep us up at night... but let me see if I can explain! When you look at what the Bible says about waiting on God, you can see the following things: Waiting is not passive...We are called to trust in God, delight in Him. There is no twiddling your thumbs or drumming your ďŹ ngers on the table doing nothing, while we wait. Waiting should be focused on waiting for Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mercy, and grace, not the things of this world, because God promises that He will take care of those. We should keep our eyes on Him while we wait...When we keep our eyes on Him, that helps keep us from getting mired down in the struggles and worries of human life (crops growing, money to keep the farm aďŹ&#x201A;oat, etc) So, absolutely, bring your cares to our loving and faithful God; Also trust that He is always, ALWAYS, good; He sees the bigger picture; And He cares and loves each of us so much that He will walk with us through whatever trial we are facing.

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Wardens Seek Info on Dead Buck

Glasgow Stockyards, Inc. Linda & Mark Nielsen, Owners Iva Murch, Manager 263-7529 Dean Barnes, Yard Manager 263-1175 Ed Hinton, Auctioneer 783-7285

October November December 2017 Schedule

October 2017

Thursday

5

&BSMZ 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

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"OHVT 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

12

&BSMZ 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

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19 COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

'FFEFS 4QFDJBM 'FBUVSJOH 3FE "OHVT *OĂ¸VFODF 'FFEFST & All Class Cattle Auction

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COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

November 2017

More volunteer labor for improvements at the Northeast Montana Fairgrounds: William Kirkland (l) and Peyton Smith (r). See the full story on Page 7.

1946 - 2017

November 2017 cont.

Thursday

Pictured: 4-H helpers Elise Strommen (l), Chaykota Christensen (center-left), Montaya Idler (center-right) and Halle Beil (r).

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Thursday

2

"MM $MBTT 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

9

"MM $MBTT 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

December 2017 Thursday

7

#JH %FDFNCFS 'FFEFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction

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"OOVBM 4UPDL $PX #SFE )FJGFS 4QFDJBM & All Class Cattle Auction.

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Last All Class Cattle Auction of 2017

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228-9306

1 0 #PY t (MBTHPX .5 HTJ!OFNPOU OFU t XXX HMBTHPXTUPDLZBSET DPN Please call in consignments so buyers can be notiďŹ ed FWP / FOR FARM & RANCH

This whitetail buck was found near Vida, Mont. Call 228-3718 if you have information. COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

The fellas were in attendance as well: JP Cornwell (l), Gage Seifert (center-left), Trevor Klind (center-right), Loden Idler (second from rigth) and Jack Cornwell (r).

Paving Project Ongoing at Duck Creek MARC KLOKER, FWP FOR FARM & RANCH

COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

Laynee Simpson (l) and her dad Larry Ross Simpson (r) lend a couple of well known smiles to the 4-H crew's efforts.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Duck Creek Fishing Access Site (FAS) boat ramp will be closed, starting this week, until further notice. The FAS, which is near Fort Peck at the Duck Creek Recreation Area will remain open to foot trafďŹ c. Contractors will begin by moving dirt and gravel in preparation to widen and

pave the parking area near the boat ramp. With the salmon snagging season opening on Oct. 1, and the Duck Creek FAS being a popular ďŹ shing site for snagging, FWP asks that anglers use caution around the construction equipment and personnel. In addition, anglers need to please packin and pack-out all items and trash. Please contact the Region 6 Headquarters in Glasgow at 406-228-3700 with any questions.

MARC KLOKER, FWP FOR FARM & RANCH Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens are seeking any information regarding a 5X5 whitetail buck that was found dead about 75 yards off Cow Creek Road south of Vida in McCone County. The deer was found by a hunter on Sept. 23. Anyone with information about this deer

is encouraged to call R6 Warden Captain Ron Howell at 406-228-3718 or call FWPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 24-hour wildlife tip line at 1-800-TIPMONT (1-800-847-6668). The 1-800-TIP-MONT program is a tollfree number where one can report violations of ďŹ sh, wildlife or park regulations. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for providing information that leads to a conviction.

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HUNTING SEASON

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FARM & FARM & RANCH RANCH

October 2017 7 www.glasgowcourier.com

4-H Members Spruce Up Northeast Montana Fairgrounds

FROM PAGE 4

front door. “The decisions I would have to make loomed over my head for many weeks,” he says. Elbert was eventually forced to release cattle onto the struggling wheat fields and close the gates to a large portion of the Block Management parcel. Hunters have respected the Loomis Ranch restrictions. “Hunters care about this land and the wildlife it holds. They hear the crunch the grass makes and I believe they have taken and will continue to take the steps needed to prevent a fire,” Elbert says. As a hunter, I stand beside the Loomis family in their decision to restrict hunting in areas of their property. Montana is dealing with unprecedented drought and fire conditions in 2017 and sportsmen must continue to be partners with landowners, and support restrictions and closures of both private and public lands, while remaining grateful for the properties that remain open for public access in the Block Management Program. Montana’s long hunting seasons are a blessing to those of us who hunt and fish. They can be a burden to landowners who are inundated with calls at all times of day and night, trespassers, litterbugs and this year, fire-starters. How hunters respect private land does more to improve or decrease access either through the Block Management program, or just the old-fashioned, door knocking way. This year, if you lose your usual hunting spot, don’t get mad. Ask what you can do to help the landowner make it through a rough time, and thank them for your past opportunities. Access is critical to ensuring Montana’s hunting popularity. It’s also a privilege on private land. While we mop up after this fire season and see restrictions across the state, it’s up to hunters to do the right thing and support these closures so that our kids will have the same opportunities we have today, if not more. Justin Schaaf is a hunter whose roots in Eastern Montana stretch back to the turn of the last century. He is raising his young family in Fort Peck near the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. This story originally published by PrairiePopulist.org.

www.glasgowcourier.com 7 October 2017

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ROUBIE YOUNKIN, MSU EXTENSION FOR FARM & RANCH Working together offers great returns in the 4-H world. What began as just a spark of an idea resulted in a great asset to our community through a great example of cooperation and collaboration. Fall of 2016 brought a proposal by Valley County Commission members to build a new multiuse livestock building on the fairgrounds. Amid great support and some protests from, believe it or not, 4-H members and parents who felt that they could “make do” for a few more years, the spark ignited and plans were in motion. Did you know the fairgrounds used to be on top of the hill by the airport? It was moved to the current location in 1929 when Valley County purchase 70 acres from St.

Paul Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company and history was made through the construction of the grandstand and other fair buildings. Through the years the buildings have been used for a variety of purposes. The western most livestock building housed commercial and purebred beef, some dairy cows and even Tennessee Walker horses at one point in time. The swine barn housed beef and the east livestock building was the swine barn. In 1969, the Agricultural Soil Conservation Service transferred ownership of two metal Quonsets to the MSU Extension Service adding two more buildings to the fairgrounds. These were the last “new ” buildings on the fairgrounds. Nearly 50 years late, a shiny white building with red trim greets fairgoers and houses 4-H and open class swine exhibits.

SEAN R. HEAVEY - AUDRA ORTEGA / FOR FARM & RANCH

Glasgow-based photographers Sean R. Heavey (see above) and Audra Ortega (below) excel at capturing the little details that make up daily life on the Hi-Line. In these images, we see contrasting hats and hands from a contestant at this year's Milk River Days in Hinsdale (above) and a brand new addition to a Valley County family (below).

COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

Teen Leader Chaykota Christensen (center) and parents Carol (l) and Chris (r) pose at the Northeast Montana Fairgrounds.

COURTESY 4-H / FOR FARM & RANCH

The charming, if run down building above is one example of the original 1929 structures at the Northeast Montana Fairgrounds. Below: The "shiny white" building improved by local 4-H members and their parents.