The Montana Conservationist July 25

Greetings, Conservationist readers! I have taken a break from running through the sprinkler (hello, is it super hot everywhere else too?) to bring you the following conservation news:

• In Oregon, an industrial pasta machine is helping restore burned rangeland.
• As fire season begins to descend upon the state, drones are becoming a more and more vital part of firefighting, and a Belgrade-based company is one of the stars of the show.
• USDA has released a new tool to help producers forecast the productivity of grasslands. Grass-Cast will tell you exactly when the grass will be greener and on which side, or so they say.
• MSU researchers have been investigating using wool for erosion control. The method involves weaving wool with straw into a blanket, and it appears that native grass seed is very comforted by the effort.
• The Water Policy Interim Committee met last week, and one of the primary topics of discussion was finding a solution to permanently fund stream gauges.
• DNRC’s State Forester Sonya Germann says the agency is preparing for the coming fire season, though the fund for fighting fires in the state is notably short after last year’s budget breaking season.
• Boating season is in peak swing, and FWP reports that Montana’s AIS check stations have so far stopped 12 boats with invasive mussels.
• Big Sky Watershed Corps host site applications for 2019 are now available, so if your district or organization needs another set of hands to build capacity in the office, consider applying!

Read this week’s edition of The Montana Conservationist here: TMC 2018-07-25