Jim Taylor, of Edgar, Montana, has followed a 7 pasture deferred-rest rotation grazing system for the past 16 years that was designed with assistance from the USDA-NRCS. The change on the landscape has been remarkable. During the time he has been applying his grazing plan, both riparian areas and the uplands have benefited greatly, in spite of some of the most extreme drought we have ever experienced as well as some of the most severe flooding we have ever had. One example is in June of 2011 they had a 150 year flood on cottonwood creek which runs through his ranch. Head cuts formed above and below his property, but the head cuts stopped once they reached the Taylor place due to the outstanding condition of the riparian. Just look at the photos. They explain it all. A sage grouse lek occurs on Jim's place and he comments on how they can watch them for hours without bothering them. His management has improved the nesting cover, forage productivity, and forb diversity which benefits sage grouse, their chicks, and the insects the chicks feed on. Not only are sage grouse benefitting from better nesting, brood rearing, and wintering habitat, but so are sharptail grouse, Hungarian partridge, non-game birds, deer, and many other wild species. Not to mention the good growth he maintains on his cows and calves.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.