2021 Impact Report
Hi friends,
We’re so grateful that you’ve been a part of this Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Community over the past year. Together, we’ve made progress in our aim to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions we need to create healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.
Here are a few highlights that you helped make happen in 2021:
Last year, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s Conservation Committee worked with 18 ranch families in Phillips, Blaine, and Valley Counties to help implement grazing land improvements aimed to increase the resiliency of their ranch business, our grasslands, and wildlife habitat.
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance committed more than $377,000 to these projects. Conservation Committee partners and the ranchers & landowners themselves contributed another $1.8 million to the projects. That means that together, we invested more than $2.1 million in grassland & grazing improvements that impacted our local communities’ economies this year.
That included:
- 60 miles of wildlife friendly fence built
- 4,500 acres of grazing habitat restored to perennial habitat and native grasses
- 192,595 feet of water pipeline laid for enhanced water systems
- 60 livestock tanks installed with 25 bird escape ramps
- 5 new water wells for stock tanks for enhanced water systems
Our Education Committee cranked its efforts up a notch last year, too!
In July 2021, RSA partnered with Winnett ACES and area Conservation Districts to host a five-stop Nicole Masters Soil Health tour, gathering 221 ranchers across our region for hands-on soil health training and analysis.
The inaugural Graziers’ Gathering in October 2021 focused on elevating local ranching knowledge and experience in peer-to-peering ranching TED-styled talks. The event sold out in the first two weeks of ticket sales!
We hosted our first two Ranch Stewards Book Club sessions, featuring Nicole Master’s For the Love of Soil and Dr. Fred Provenza’s Nourishment. These virtual discussion groups created a community that spans the Northern Great Plains for inspiration to read, learn, grow, and create stimulating discussion around ideas that matter to healthier landscapes, people, and animals.
The first five sessions in the Rural Resilience webinar series shared world-class speakers and innovative ranching and conservation ideas with 944 registered guests, representing up to 26 different states, right in the comfort of our ranch homes!
We share these numbers and celebrations as a constant reminder that even in tough years — the years where drought tests our faith and economic challenges try our spirits — we can still grow and learn and build more resilient ranches, landscapes, and communities to not just weather the next storm, but to thrive in doing what we love.
Thank you for your support, encouragement, and participation in 2021.
You can help continue these efforts in 2022.
Our 2021 Impact Report is in the mail! Check out the digital copy here. We’re looking forward to growing stronger in 2022.
Join the Winning Team: Executive Assistant position now open!
This position has been filled!
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
Executive Assistant
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is a fast-growing, rancher-led organization based in Malta, Montana. We exist to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions we need to create healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is an organization nationally recognized for its leadership in building partnerships that provide education and implement stewardship practices and principles supporting vibrant communities, multi-generation family ranches and healthy ecosystems. Our mission statement is Ranching, Conservation, Communities – a Winning Team!
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is seeking an Executive Assistant to contribute to our mission and to be a member of this winning team.
Our ideal candidate is:
- Self-starting; a logical worker who can see needs and work independently.
- Tech-savvy; a problem-solver who can help make webinars function seamlessly, who thinks tracking data and spreadsheets is fun, and who can integrate new software that helps the whole team be more successful.
- Detail-oriented; a focused task-master who makes sure every mission is checked off the list,
- Team-focused; a helper who ensures other team members, customers and partners have the information and resources they need to be successful.
We offer:
- A flexible workplace; this position be based Malta, Montana, office the majority of the time. We offer flexible remote work when on occasion, when needed.
- A winning team; we’re a small team, but we’re growing quickly and opportunities continue to abound. If you care about ranching, these prairie landscapes and our rural communities, you’ll be a part of meaningful work that makes a positive impact on all three.
- Room to grow; we value learning, wise growth and getting better every day. We bring in educational speakers and workshops for our ranching community and work to invest in our own professional skills so we can continue to serve.
The details:
- Ideally, we envision this position is 20 hours a week with a starting wage of $18/hr.
- Each employee serves a 3–6-month probationary period to determine if we fit together
- Because we work largely with volunteers and in events, some evenings, early mornings, and weekends are required. We’re flexible with your work hours because we’re flexible to our work needs!
DETAILED JOB DUTIES FOR OPERATIONS MANAGER:
Support Staff
- The main go-to person and support staff for the Conservation Coordinator, Finance & Grant Administrator, and the Communications & Outreach Leader
- Your duties as support staff may vary widely with an opportunity to learn many new skills and functions of our organization
Day-to-day operations
- Mail, mailings, preparing bank deposits,
- Answer phone, relay messages, and maintain local office communication.
- Email inbox management and exodus
- Filing, scanning, & organizing systems; updating filing systems and scanning with naming protocol
- Contribute to the organization and coordination of community events and functions (PC Proud, educational workshops, tours, etc.) by leading logistics, including entertainment, location, equipment, educational materials, programs, door prizes, food, etc.
Committee management
- Creating agendas, notes, and reports, setting up zooms, keeping schedules, moving work forward for committee
- Notify RSA board, committees, members, partners and the community of monthly meetings and committee meetings
- Organize and edit all incoming information for all RSA meetings. Assist the Project Leader in organizing meetings and developing agendas for monthly RSA meetings.
- Set up Zoom meeting links & reserve conference room for meetings, compile and print meeting packets for meetings; record, distribute and file RSA monthly meeting minutes.
Charity Proud software and database management
- Self-teaching opportunity! Learn the Charity Proud Customer Relationship Management software to handle customer/partner database management.
- Manage RSA calendar, grant deadlines, physical mailing and electronic mailing list
- Maintain record of director’s terms of office and election dates, and track attendance at meetings.
- Prepare donor acknowledgement letters
Technology management
- Scan documents, establish and maintain an organized filing system.
- Transition electronic files to new online filing system, lead planning on naming system
- Manage office software systems, passwords, electronic inventory, etc.,
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and at least three professional references to:
Conni French at [email protected] and Angel DeVries at [email protected].
Applications will be collected until a suitable candidate is found.
Join the Winning Team: Communication & Outreach Leader position now open!
APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS NOW CLOSED, June 8, 2022
This position has been filled
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance: Communications & Outreach Leader
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is a fast-growing, rancher-led organization based in Malta, Montana. We exist to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions we need to create healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance is an organization nationally recognized for its leadership in building partnerships that provide education and implement stewardship practices and principles supporting vibrant communities, multi-generation family ranches and healthy ecosystems. Our mission statement is Ranching, Conservation, Communities – a Winning Team!
We are seeking a Communications & Outreach Leader to join our winning team and contribute to this mission.
Our ideal candidate is:
- Self-starting; you are an entrepreneurial leader who can see needs, seek creative solutions, and work independently.
- Relationship-centered; you are the ‘hub’ of the organization’s social life. You share stories, ideas, and connect people and partners. You bring energy and emotional intelligence to work with board, staff, volunteers, funders, partners, and our community.
- Mission-driven; you embody the mission of the organization, lead us in strategic planning, have a mission-driven vision for the future of ranching, conservation, and communities, and you are comfortable representing this mission publicly.
- Deeply connected; you are networked in and understand the ranching, conservation, and rural community scene. You bring connectivity to other similar organizations, current and potential partners, and funders, and are rooted in the rural and ranching way of life.
We offer:
- A flexible workplace; this position will be based in Blaine, Phillips, or Valley County, with an option for a flexible combination of remote work and time in the Malta office.
- A winning team; we are a small team, but we are growing quickly, and opportunities continue to abound. If you care about ranching, conserving prairie landscapes, and our rural communities, you’ll be a part of meaningful work that makes a positive impact on all three.
- Room to grow; we value learning, wise growth and getting better every day. We bring in educational speakers and workshops for our ranching community and work to invest in our own professional skills so we can continue to serve.
The details:
- This is ideally a full-time position, but we are willing to start on a project-by-project basis.
- Each employee serves a 3–6-month probationary period to determine if we fit together.
- Because we work with volunteers and at events, some evenings, early mornings, and weekends are required. We’re flexible with your work hours because we’re flexible to our work needs! Some travel will be required.
- Full funding for this position is secured for at least one year, with opportunities and a desire to continue. Salary range is $40,000-$60,000 depending on experience and ability.
DETAILED JOB DUTIES FOR OUTREACH & COMMUNICATION LEADER:
Community Connections:
- Clearly communicate (written and verbally) Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s mission and goals in compelling ways.
- Serve as primary point of contact and liaison for Ranchers Stewardship Alliance for outward facing communication and community leadership.
- Attend meetings with stakeholders, partners, and resource groups to inform, update and/or coordinate on Ranchers Stewardship Alliance activities such as tours and educational events.
- Lead the development of on-ranch volunteer opportunities and volunteer coordination.
- Work with your team to develop fundraising efforts; lead donor communication and relationship development and create opportunities for new funding sources.
Communication & Outreach:
- Create strategic annual communication plan, including annual report, appeals, and media outreach. Lead coordination of design, printing, and distribution of communication materials.
- Maintain a social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, webpage, etc.) and regular connection to our Ranch Stewards community through MailChimp newsletters.
- Work with outside contractors or self-produce video, audio, and print stories that illustrate our mission, vision, values, and achievements in meaningful ways.
Education & Workshop:
- Create a central ‘hub’ through the Education & Outreach Committee for the ranching community beyond Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s traditional audience.
- Strategize, plan, and execute education and workshop calendar, including in person and virtual events, that reach community needs and ranching objectives.
- Provide leadership for Education & Outreach Committee for functions such as Annual Banquet, educational workshops, virtual webinars, tours, etc.; provide for project vision, core values and purpose, and then execute through agendas, speaker coordination, entertainment, materials, and advertisement.
- Provide public information through media outlets on Ranchers Stewardship Alliance activities, upcoming meetings, and opportunities for stakeholder participation and input.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
The ideal candidate will have proven experience in communication and leadership/project management. You demonstrate a working knowledge of grassland conservation and the ranching communities of the Northern Great Plains. A record of leadership and team building will help you seamlessly work with fellow staff, volunteer board of directors, and partners. Formal education or documented experience in communication, journalism, leadership, education, or other relevant topics is valuable.
Please submit a resume, cover letter, and at least three professional references to: Conni French at [email protected] and Angel DeVries at [email protected].
Building a herd and hope
Beginning rancher revitalizes retired CRP to grow her herd and wildlife habitat
By Laura C. Nelson, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
The old homestead still stands sentinel on the hill.
Weathered, worn and abandoned long ago, Heather Martin has often looked at the relic and wondered just how the brother-sister duo who claimed this parcel more than a century ago thought they could make a living off such a small sliver of sandy soil.
“There’s no well, no running water, and when this reservoir dries up, there’s nothing,” the Phillips County rancher says, nodding to the still pool nestled in the natural basin. “Maybe they got more rain back then, maybe it held more snow – I just don’t know. It had to have been a tough living.”
As decades wore on, making a living on that land didn’t get any easier. It was plowed, then entered into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the 1990s, indicating it was considered marginal cropland, at best. Planted to crested wheatgrass, a non-native but prolific species, it was left to weather the elements like the homestead decades before. The crested wheatgrass took root and covered the bare ground as intended, but wildlife search for tender, native grasses to graze. Dead growth became a barrier to new life.
Still, like many before her, Heather Martin saw opportunity.
“I was trying to grow; we were running out of ground. I was just trying to make it work, this ranching deal,” she says. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve known that since I was eight years old.”

Cattle, like the wildlife before, would likely turn their noses up at the brittle, nutrient-poor overgrown and dead vegetation, and Martin feared it was a tinder box of bad luck waiting for a lightning strike and an uncontrollable blaze.
She knocked down what she could with a swather and baled the worst stands the year she bought it. With a land payment pressing, there was no time for further renovations. The dilapidated fence line was ragged at best – “That first year, I was getting heifers in every day. Every day! But what could I do? I had to use it.”
A previous owner had interspersed some alfalfa seed, and native vegetation began inching its way back in. With the first stand knocked back, she bought 600-pound heifers to develop and sold them at 1,000 pounds.
“It’s a producing little pasture,” she says, sure of its potential to grow the nourishment needed to expand her Red Angus breeding program. It’s the perfect spot for developing heifers or for her A.I. and embryo transfer cattle.
“I love yearlings; I love calving heifers, too. I know a lot of people don’t like to bother with it – it’s hard!—but I like the challenge,” Martin says. “I like that you get to be the one who see her ‘get it’ for the first time. You get to teach them, in a way.”
But the land was ready to teach her the same lesson it doled out to generations of westerners before: dreams, ambition, hard work and know-how doesn’t mean much without water.

“In 2017, I hauled water every day to this pasture. The reservoir dried all the way up. If you’ve ever had to haul water, you know – I’m haying, trying to get everything else done, and it’s up at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning to haul water, then off to work or to help someone else on their place and back at 11 o’clock at night to fill the trough,” she recalls. “My heart is here – these cows, they’re my heart – but I don’t know. Sometimes you wonder if it makes sense, if it’s really worth it, you know?”
Hope in a hard time
“In 2017, the panic was on – everyone in Phillips County was out of water,” Sage Grouse Initiative Rangeland Conservationist Martin Townsend says. “That summer was a record-setting drought, so it really highlighted where people were low on water. At that point, available water became the most limiting resource for agricultural production.”
When Heather Martin approached the local Farm Service Agency office for potential water development funding, she learned that due to high demand, it would be at least a year before cost-share funding would be available. Instead, she was directed to the Natural Resources Conservation Service to inquire about new conservation funding available through the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA). There, she was introduced to Martin Townsend, who is hired by the Soil and Water Conservation District of Montana to work in the Malta Natural Resource Conservation Service office doing conservation planning and contracting. Townsend also serves as RSA’s volunteer Conservation Committee Coordinator.
The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance was formed in 2003 as a rancher-led conservation organization based in Malta, Montana. The organization’s mission is to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions they need to create healthy working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.
In 2017, RSA was awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Northern Great Plains Program for local rangeland improvements to benefit grassland birds, rangeland health and working landscape through livestock grazing.

The grant money would be administered through the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance’s newly formed Conservation Committee, a collaboration of ranchers, state and federal agencies and conservation organizations. Matching funds from Conservation Committee partners brought the total available funds to $410,000.
“The first phase of that grant money was specifically focused on expiring CRP land that could be put into a grazing system,” Townsend says. “The goal is to reduce the risk of cultivation and keep grasslands for grassland birds, while supporting working lands, ranching and the rural community.”
Heather Martin’s project was the perfect fit, smack in the middle of priority habitat for grassland birds like the chestnut-collared and McCown’s longspur. The pasture also falls just outside the core area near a sage grouse migratory corridor and has several active leks (breeding grounds) within a five-mile radius.
It marked all the boxes in promoting biodiversity and healthy wildlife habitat, but most rewarding, Townsend says, is that it offered resilience to a rancher working to grow her herd.
“We want her operation to be functional, because when it is, it’s functional for wildlife, too,” Townsend says.

To do that, the RSA Conservation Committee proposed to drill a new well, install 6,000 feet of livestock pipeline, install two fiberglass water tanks with bird ramps and construct 1.2 miles of perimeter and internal fencing. With a nearly one-to-one match, Martin purchased the tanks and labor to construct the fencing and in turn, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance would pay to install the well, pipeline and purchase fencing supplies.
“It’s a godsend,” Martin says. “In less than eight months, I had water on this place. I couldn’t believe it.”
Resilience for a first-time rancher
The pickup bounces across what may have once been farming tracks in the hip-high, new growth.
“I’m still getting to know this little pasture,” Martin says. “It takes time to really get to know a piece of land; to know what grows, what does well, the lay of the land.”
The new water system has allowed her to look at this land differently. When she relied on the reservoir for water, it could only be grazed in early spring when water ran. In the first year after the well was drilled and pipeline installed, she was able to experiment with winter grazing with cattle foraging into December. Now, she can rest the pasture through the spring and summer to allow fresh regrowth.
She’s not the only one reaping the benefits of the reinvigorated landscape.
She’s mid-sentence when she stops the pickup abruptly and points: “Grouse.”

There, nestled in the swaying sweet clover, the female sage grouse finds cover. Earlier in the spring, the shorter, new grass would be ideal for songbirds, and throughout the year, antelope move through the landscape. In recent years, Martin has seen more elk making their way through her pastures, and one year, she spotted a rogue moose.
“That’s the beauty of a grazing system,” rancher and RSA Conservation Committee chair Sheila Walsh says. “It creates diversity on the landscape that a variety of wildlife needs to thrive. But what’s just as important to us is that it can allow a young rancher to thrive, too.”
Martin still has more fencing work to complete her end of the RSA conservation match. The cross-fencing will help her create an even more detailed grazing plan and add more options to her breeding program. As she develops her herd, she’s working toward more purebred breeding stock to sell. She’s in her second year offering registered Red Angus bulls in collaboration with the Rough Country Breeders sale and sees opportunity to offer more.
“I just love what I do,” she says. Sticking with it involves a lot of stubbornness, she laughs, but it also requires a bigger team. “Starting out on my own and building my own program has been hard,” she says. “But I’ve had a lot of people pulling for me in places I needed them. And for that, I’m thankful.”

# # #
About Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, Inc.: In 2003, about 30 ranching families in northern Montana came together to resolve common problems they faced. Now known as RSA, this rancher-led conservation organization works to strengthen our rural community, economy and culture. Our mission is to help multi-generational and beginning ranchers build the collaborative, trusting relationships and community-based solutions they need to create healthy, working landscapes and vibrant rural communities.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate, and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 5,000 organizations and generated a total conservation impact of $6.1 billion. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.
Ranchers Stewardship Alliance August Meeting Agenda
We’re looking forward to having you join us at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 via Zoom for our monthly Ranchers Stewardship Alliance meeting. The meeting information is below.
Been curious about RSA but not sure how to get involved? This would be a great time to get started by joining a committee! This is where you can really make a difference in guiding the application of our mission: Ranching, Conservation, Communities — A Winning Team!
- Workshop/education committee – Bring a speaker or topic idea you want to learn more about and help share it with the community.
- Phillips County Proud Committee – Plan the social event of the season to celebrate ranching, conservation and communities!
- Conservation Committee – Review and monitor the on-the-ground conservation work of RSA and our partners.
- Communication/outreach Committee – Help share the story of how ranching, conservation and communities make a winning team!
- Expansion Committee – Work with Winnett ACES leaders to find mutually beneficial relationships.
- Fundraising Committee – Develop and execute fundraising plans to ensure a sustainable future for ranching, conservation and rural communities!
If one of those sparks an interest, but you’re unable to join us on Aug. 11, just email Laura at [email protected] and let us know you’d like to be notified of the committee’s work and meetings.
[sm_hr]
5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020 — Zoom call-in ONLY
Ranchers’ Stewardship Alliance August 2020 Board Meeting Agenda
Connect with VIDEO: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83911169537
Meeting ID: 839 1116 9537
Connect with AUDIO ONLY:
Dial by your location: +1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 839 1116 9537
One tap mobile: +13462487799,,83911169537#[hr]
Mission Statement: Ranching, Conservation,
Communities – a Winning Team!
- Introductions/Roll Call
- Agenda additions/changes
- Outreach: Has anyone presented to any groups pertaining to RSA this last month?
- Review and approve July minutes
- Review and approve financials
- Standing Committee Reports:
- Conservation Committee: Sheila
- Phillips County Proud Committee: Kelli
- Workshop/Education Committee: Conni
- Communication Committee: Dale and Casey
- Fundraising Committee: Aaron and Vicki
- Expansion Committee: Sheila
- Membership Committee: Conni
- Ad Hoc Committee Reports
- Beef Donation Committee: Kelsey, Vicki, Laura
- Beef Donation Committee: Kelsey, Vicki, Laura
- Old Business
- Strategic Plan/BIG GOALS review
- Migration corridors public meeting potential, a follow up from Cole Mannix’s last report – Laura
- WWF’s re-seeding grant – Claire Hood, WWF
- New Business
- Overview of the Great American Outdoors Act – Bob Sanders, Ducks Unlimited
- Wildlife Crossing Program – Naomi Alhadeff, National Wildlife Federation
- ACES update – Brent Smith
- ACES/RSA partnership ideas
- Request for Proposal, Bear Paw Mountains ranch lease – Leo
- Conservation Committee requests – Sheila
- New project approvals: North Blaine Seeding Project
- New member approval: Jared Beaver, MSU
- Sponsor Tom Curtin Horsemanship Clinic – Kelli
- Announcements/Upcoming Events:
- Aug. 29-30: Nicole Masters workshop in Malta. Register at https://tinyurl.com/y57gyv9b – POSTPONED
- Sept. 4-6: Tom Curtin Quality Horsemanship Clinic, Glasgow. Contact Aimee Kirkland at 307-620-1100 or [email protected] to register.
- Sept. 8: RSA Monthly Meeting Sept. 8, 2020; _________ p.m.
- Sept. 9-10: Montana Range Tour, Malta, MT (POSTPONED to 2021)
- Adjourn meeting
- Executive board session to follow
July Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Meeting
We’re looking forward to having you join us at 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 14 at the Malta Business Center or via Zoom for our monthly Ranchers Stewardship Alliance meeting. The meeting information is below. Curious about what kinds of discussions happen at an RSA meeting? See highlights from our June meeting here.
Planning to join us in person? Please bring a light potluck item to share, if you’re able. If you’re Zooming in, know that we’ll have a short (5-10 minutes) break around the middle of the meeting to give you a chance to step away from your computer, grab a snack, stretch your legs, etc.!
Been curious about RSA but haven’t had a chance to come to a meeting yet? This would be a great time to join us! We’ll review committee assignments and find the right place for you to jump in:
- Workshop/education committee – Bring a speaker or topic idea you want to learn more about and help share it with the community.
- Phillips County Proud Committee – Plan the social event of the season to celebrate ranching, conservation and communities!
- Conservation Committee – Review and monitor the on-the-ground conservation work of RSA and our partners.
- Communication/outreach Committee – Help share the story of how ranching, conservation and communities make a winning team!
- Expansion Committee – Work with Winnett ACES leaders to find mutually beneficial relationships.
- Fundraising Committee – Develop and execute fundraising plans to ensure a sustainable future for ranching, conservation and rural communities!
If one of those sparks an interest, but you’re unable to join us on July 14, just email and let us know you’d like to be notified of the committee’s work and meetings.
___________________________________
5 p.m., Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Malta Business Center (in person) or Zoom call-in
Ranchers’ Stewardship Alliance July 2020 Board Meeting Agenda
Connect with VIDEO:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85950236894
Meeting ID: 859 5023 6894
Connect with AUDIO ONLY:
Dial by your location: +1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 859 5023 6894
One tap mobile: +13462487799,,85950236894#
Mission Statement: Ranching, Conservation, Communities – a Winning Team!
View the full meeting agenda as a PDF here: 2020_07_14_RSA Meeting Agenda
Looking forward to seeing you July 14!