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Fall 2021

Madison Conservation District News provides updates and articles specific to projects and programs from the area.
 
Core Office Hours: Mon-Wed. 10am-3pm
Lone Elk Mall
222 E Main St. Suite 2B
Ennis MT 59729
406-682-3181
info@madisoncd.org
Madison Conservation District Cost Share Program
 
         The Madison Conservation District is happy to announce the start of a Cost Share Program. Similar to other conservation districts in Montana, we have realized that one of the best opportunities to support and engage local landowners in meaningful soil and water conservation projects is to provide direct funding to those projects. In order to ensure transparency and appropriate use of our funds, we have developed a basic application and ranking criteria for interested parties. It is one page and includes four questions or prompts:
  1. Summary (What is the proposed project?)
  2. Justification (How does this project directly relate to soil and/or water conservation?)
  3. Budget (What is the overall cost of the project? Is the applicant able to providing matching funds and/or in-kind services?)
  4. Deliverables (Are there specific outcomes that will be generated for the community?)
         Examples of projects include restoration projects, improvements to irrigation infrastructure that lend to the conservation of soil and/or water, purchasing of seed for revegetation, riparian pasture generation, off stream wells, research and/or education that lends to a greater understanding of soil and/or water conservation in our area, etc.
 
         All proposals must be received by December 31st, 2021 to be considered for this first round of funding. We anticipate funding 3 or 4 projects at a maximum of $2,500 per project. Please contact our offices for more details and to get copies of the application and ranking criteria. The materials are also posted on the home page of our website. Projects must be located within our jurisdictional boundary (essentially, the eastern third of Madison County).

Pictured: Riparian Pasture and Passive Stream Restoration on Wigwam Creek
 
Second Annual Madison Tributary Blitz
      In late August, the Madison Conservation District completed its second annual Madison Tributary Blitz. What is a tributary blitz? Well, a tributary is a river (or stream or creek depending on the local vernacular) that flows into a larger river or lake. In the Madison Watershed, examples of some of the larger and more familiar tributaries are O’Dell, Jack, Bear, Indian, Elk, Ruby, Moore, South and North Meadow and Hot Springs Creek.
           So, what’s a blitz? A blitz is an opportunity to sample many sites over a brief period of time, also known as a form of synoptic sampling. Some folks are familiar and perhaps volunteer for the nationwide annual Christmas Bird Count. A tributary blitz is a similar effort, but instead of collecting bird data on a single day of the year, we collect stream data on a single morning of the year. There are a number of advantages to this style of environmental, and specifically water quality, monitoring. All rivers have some level of variability from day to day, and even within a single day. For instance, water temperature during the hot days and low flows of July and August dramatically changes from daybreak through sunset. Hoot owl fishing restrictions are enforced for this reason. By mid-afternoon, water has warmed to such an extent that the river no longer retains the levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) necessary for trout to be successfully caught and safely released. DO is an example of a major driver of natural processes in our streams, so it is important to collect representative samples that can be compared to one another. In summary, a tributary blitz allows us to get a “snap-shot” of stream conditions across the watershed on a single morning.
         The morning of the blitz was cool with a few cumulous clouds in the sky. Eight of us met outside the Madison Conservation District offices, and split up into three teams.
           
Our instruments had been calibrated earlier that morning, and maps, sampling bottles, datasheets and tributary lists were distributed to each team with basic instructions and plans to rendezvous at the office by early afternoon.
         Fortunately, each team had a seasoned member of our Madison Stream Team in order to provide quality control during data collection. By mid-afternoon, samples from 16 Madison tributaries were en route to state-certified labs with the ability to measure nutrients and other variables of interest that we cannot detect at our modest lab in Ennis. In the coming months, we will release the data and a brief summary report on our website. The data will vary from year to year, but over time, trends will emerge and we will be able to track changes and compare tributary health across the watershed.      
         We could not have had a successful blitz without the help from citizen science volunteers that collected samples on the day of the event, or without the help of MSU – Extension or the Department of Environmental Quality for facilitating sampling materials and lab analyses of the samples. If you are interested in learning more or helping out with water quality monitoring in the future, please do not hesitate to reach out to us or sign up for our quarterly newsletter. Contact and newsletter information is available on our website: madisoncd.net

Producer Tour
 
         On September 29th the Sitz and Dyk Families welcomed the community to come tour their operations for the 2021 Producer Tour. To start the evening, Nick Dyke gave a presentation about the various crops they’ve planted and how they’ve faired this year. Due to the extreme drought this summer, there were many challenges the Dyk farm had to overcome. Nick was able to offer insight about the harsh conditions and their strategies for dealing with it. As drought persists, drought resilience is becoming increasingly important. Next, Bob Sitz showed us around his operation and specifically the restoration of Norwegian Creek. The land has a mining legacy and most of the stream was dredged at one point. The restoration has returned the stream to its natural structure, allowed for revegetation of the banks, and provided great trout habitat.
 
   We would like to thank Nick Dyk and Bob Sitz, as well as their families, for having us and providing some great insight about farming and ranching in the area. We would also like to thank anyone who attended for making it a great evening!
Pollinator Initiative 
The Pollinator Initiative is a program aimed at supporting our pollinators, including butterflies, bees, wasps, flies, and beetles. They are incredibly important, spreading pollen from one plant to another to fertilize flowers. So many of the foods we eat and flowers we enjoy are dependent on pollinators for reproduction. By supporting our pollinators by providing habitat and a food source, we can keep their populations healthy and contribute to food and flower production. As the summer comes to an end, we can reflect on the challenges and success of pollinator gardens this season. Thank you to all community members who have planted seed, and to those who have sent photos and feedback!
         Although this season had plenty of challenges due to harsh conditions, we received so many beautiful photos of flowers blossoming from participants (Pictured). As temperatures drop, this is actually an excellent time to reseed your pollinator garden or start anew. The winter will provide the seeds with a dormant period, during which the ground can soak up all the moisture it can get from the snow, and then as soon as it is warm enough the seeds will germinate. Seeding in the falls mean you don’t have to rush to get seed and spread it in the spring. The seeds know just when to germinate, so there is no risk of missing any of the growing season.
         If you would like to spread pollinator seed for next spring, please reach out and we can provide the seed, instructions, and support if needed. Feel free to drop by the office in the Lone Elk on Main Street, or reach out via phone (406-682-3181) or email (info@madisoncd.org).
Montana Soils Outreach
MACD and MWCC
 
         From September 2021 through July 2022, the Montana Association of Conservation Districts, Montana Watershed Coordination Council and partners are reaching out across the state to ask: What more might be done to better support farmers and ranchers in managing soils in Montana? 
         Our purpose is to increase the pace and scale at which land stewards implement voluntary practices and systems to maintain and improve soil health, and thereby the long term economic and ecological vitality of agriculture in Montana. In August of 2022 we will produce and share a report on what was learned along with any recommendations that seem to emerge. All responses will be kept confidential and anonymous.


         If you’re interested in providing feedback, there are many ways you can help out ranging from a 5 min online survey to attending in person focus groups. For more information, please visit https://montanasoiloutreach.macdnet.org
Climate Update
We finally got some much needed Precipitation earlier this month. Even with the snow and rain, not much has changed in terms of drought conditions. 100% of Madison County is still experiencing “severe drought” and 82% experiencing “exceptional drought,” the most intense category of drought. According to data reported by the United State Drought Monitor on Drought.gov, 2021 was the driest year on record for Madison County in 127 years, with precipitation 4.38 inches lower than the average. September was also the driest September in the past 127 years, with precipitation 1.33 inches less than average.

Although the drought is expected to continue, predictions from the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center show that both temperature and precipitation in the coming months will likely be around average. 

For more information about current drought conditions in the state, and in Madison County, you can visit:
https://www.drought.gov/states/montana/county/madison
 
If you have questions about the maps, data or statistics reported, you can find information here: https://www.drought.gov/county/data
 

Links of Interest 
 
Montana Soils Outreach: 
https://montanasoiloutreach.macdnet.org

The US Drought Monitor provides regularly updated maps of drought conditions, predictions, and precipitation data:
https://www.drought.gov/states/montana/county/madison

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center provides temperature and precipitation predictions: 
https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov

The Centennial Valley Association’s blogs provide a closer look at range riding and water availability in the area:
http://www.centennialvalleyassociation.org/blog
 
NRCS’s Montana News Releases provide things such as in-depth snow reports for the state:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/mt/newsroom/releases/
 
The Montana Association for Conservation District’s (MACD) Montana Conservationist newsletter provides working lands case studies and examples from around the state:
https://macdnet.org/category/the-montana-conservationist/
 
The NCAT Podcast provides technical insight and problem-solving for folks that work closely with the land:
https://attra.ncat.org/soil-health-and-regenerative-agriculture-podcast/
 
The Art of Range Podcast (Washington State University) provides in-depth conversations with Range Science experts:
https://artofrange.com/
 
National Association of Conservation District’s “Conservation Clips” is a weekly release of national news related to private lands’ conservation:
https://www.nacdnet.org/news-and-events/publications/conservation-clips/
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