IN DECEMBER 2003, GORDON CATTLE COMPANY, a fourth-generation ranch in northern Blaine County, completed a conservation easement with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). This project conserves a 15,000-acre complex of glaciated wetlands and mixed grass prairie.
AS MORE AND MORE native prairie along Montana's northern border counties is converted to cropland, habitat for prairie-dependent wildlife reaches the point where too little remains in parcels too small to effectively conserve many key species adapted to these habitats. Grassland nesting birds such as the Sprague's pipit, Baird's sparrow, and mammals like the Northern swift fox cannot survive without large tracts of native prairie in which to complete key parts of their life cycle. It is this critical relationship between the grasslands and native wildlife of the area which highlights the crucial importance of the Gordon easement to long-term wildlife conservation in this area. Other more adaptable species such as mule deer, antelope, sharp-tailed grouse, and other resident wildlife also benefit from native prairie conservation.
NOT ONLY is the Gordon Ranch home to a diverse grassland wildlife community, the abundance of prairie pothole wetlands is essential to wildlife in this semi-arid part of Montana. The ranch has numerous wetland basins within the easement area, totaling over 400 wetland acres. These wetlands provide breeding areas for waterfowl, year-round habitat for amphibians and reptiles, and provide a source of freshwater for mammals, insects, and other wildlife.
BY CONTINUING their traditional grazing management for the ranch, the Gordon family realizes their goals of not only continuing to raise cattle, but also protecting the wildlife they have long appreciated as a valuable part of the ranch. This is the legacy of the Gordon family, one that they've now handed down to future generations.
