A conservation partnership protects seven miles of Little Bitterroot River in Montana. Riparian buffers line the river and help filter nutrients from runoff, trap sediment, cool water temperatures, stabilize stream banks and sequester carbon.
Environmental conditions along the Lower Little Bitterroot River in Montana are tough. Rainfall is barely 11 inches per year. Farms and ranches irrigating upstream in the summer make matters worse. They reduce streamflow significantly. Vegetation stays in poor condition. It gets overgrazed and trampled by livestock. But the weeds grow thick.
Despite the challenges, things began to change in 2010. That’s when nearly 350 acres of sensitive land on the Flathead Indian Reservation were enrolled in the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Landowners knew they had to protect the soil and prevent nutrients from washing into their waterways.
They had another goal, too; to enhance the area’s wildlife habitat.
“Many of the “flats” above the river were white where soil was exposed due to lack of vegetation,” said Art Soukkala, wildlife biologist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Natural Resources (CSKT) Wildlife Management Program. “Where vegetation was growing, it was short, stunted and in poor condition.”
A unique partnership between FSA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), CSKT and Tribal Lands Departments created seven miles of fenced riparian buffers on both sides of the Little Bitterroot River with newly planted trees and shrubs.
CRP, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015, is among the largest private lands conservation program to reduce soil erosion, improve water and air quality and provide wildlife habitat.
It is a voluntary program that allows eligible landowners to receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving covers on eligible farmland throughout the duration of their 10-to-15-year contracts.
“Enrolling the land in CRP allowed us to immediately protect and begin restoring 211 acres of riparian habitat along the river and an additional 300 acres of adjacent habitat,” said Soukkala.
A stream crossing was also constructed to protect natural resources and ecosystems by creating a place for wildlife to cross the river.
The tribe manages 3,100 acres of habitat in two management units along the Lower Little Bitterroot River.
“After five years of implementing conservation practices, only around five percent of the steepest banks are bare,” said Herb Webb, NRCS Tribal Liaison. “The remaining stream banks have established grass along the edge of the water and pockets of cattails and rushes are established in many backwaters and eddies that were bare years ago. Overall estimates are that vegetative production has quadrupled as plants have colonized bare areas and the vegetation is considerably more healthy and vigorous.”
USDA has provided cost share support on numerous agricultural projects with the tribes and individual members of the tribes. Conservation practices include spring developments for livestock and irrigation, fencing and cross fencing, improved irrigation systems, stock water ponds and dams, grazing improvements, wells, land leveling, weed control and tree thinning.
When the 15-year project wraps up in 2025, approximately 5,000 native trees and shrubs will be planted to protect the river banks and enhance wildlife habitat. The Tribal Forestry greenhouse will supply the majority of the seedlings needed for this effort.
Since being established on Dec. 23, 1985, CRP has helped prevent more than 9 billion tons of soil from eroding and protected more than 170,000 stream miles with riparian and grass buffers, more than 100,000 acres of bottomland hardwood trees, nearly 300,000 acres of flood-plain wetlands, and 250,000 acres each for duck nesting habitat and upland bird habitat.
2015 marks the 30th Anniversary of CRP. For an interactive tour of CRP success stories from across the U.S., please visit the FSA CRP 30th Anniversary website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/CRPis30.
