Save the Date: North Phillips County Ranch Tour Set for June 16

Explore working lands, share ideas, and build connections at the Hammond and Murdock Ranches. The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance invites you to join us for a day of stewardship, innovation, and community during the North Phillips County Ranch Tour on Monday, June 16, 2025. Registration is now open at www.RanchStewards.org/events. This free event welcomes anyone with […]
Conni French Continues Steadfast Leadership of Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

Taking the reins in January, French is carrying forward RSA’s mission while advancing a grassbank opportunity and navigating funding challenges. Malta, MT — The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is celebrating its first quarter under the leadership of Board President Conni French, who stepped into the role in January following the dedicated tenure of longtime leader […]
They Think They’re Just Ranching

In the vast grasslands of the Northern Great Plains, ranchers have long been the silent stewards of some of America’s most fragile ecosystems. These are people who understand the land in a way few others do—people whose hands are calloused from years of hard work, and whose education often comes from the very soil they […]
2023 Annual Report

RSA Receives National BLM Award

The following is a press release from the Bureau of Land Management: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently announced the winners of the 2024 Rangeland Stewardship and Rangeland Innovations awards, which recognize exemplary management and outstanding accomplishments in restoring and maintaining the health of public rangelands. The awards were presented Sept. 18 […]
Next Year Country

If walls could talk, the pistachio green surface of Sally Austin’s kitchen would instantaneously have you settled in over a cup of steaming Folgers. A gallery of framed photos, some slightly askew, tells the story of the 70 years Austin has lived on the ranch. Tucked among them, funeral programs and a well-worn flyswatter remind […]
Tradition, Trial, and Targeted Implementation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QPfYuvcj2A Beneath wispy clouds set in a blindingly blue sky where Montana and Saskatchewan become indistinguishable from one another sits the Louie Petrie Ranch, an exemplary model in ranch tradition, innovative trial, and targeted implementation. It’s on this land outside of Turner where you’ll find multiple generations strategizing for the long-term viability of the ranch […]
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Honors Jacquelyn (Jacquie) Evans with 2024 Gold Star Award

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is proud to announce Jacquelyn (Jacquie) Evans as the recipient of the 2024 Gold Star Award. Evans, the Science Integration Specialist with the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV), received this prestigious accolade on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at the Matador Ranch Science Symposium. The Gold Star Award is presented annually […]
Becoming the Beaver

How one rancher’s unconventional approach is bringing water back to an arid landscape. The sweet peas are popping up in north Phillips County, enjoying the cool Montana spring before the heat of summer puts them to rest for another year. Birds chirp. The breeze is cool, the air fresh. And in the mind of Brian […]
Nonprofits Collaborate for Agricultural Grassbank Campus

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA), a rancher-founded nonprofit based in Malta, MT, and Winnett ACES, a grassroots-led nonprofit in central Montana are jointly announcing a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to create a potential “grassbank campus.” If realized, the campus would serve as a physical location for continuing agricultural education alongside the fostering of grazing […]