Why Ranch Families Participate as “Undaunted Land Stewards”

• Because Montana ranch families are proud of their generations of stewardship and of all it entails -- proud that the vast landscapes they own and manage still look more as they did when Lewis & Clark saw them than virtually any other lands in America -- and they want them to stay that way.

• Because the certification process for “Undaunted Land Stewards,” conducted with the assistance of range management specialists at Montana State University, gives ranch families tools to help keep improving their land management -- often resulting in measurable increases in naturally sustained productivity, benefiting both livestock production as well as fish and wildlife populations.

• Because the certification process produces a written grazing plan for participating ranches that applies state-of-the-science range management practices on a site-specific basis. This elevates confidence and quality-control -- makes it easier to monitor and track environmental progress.

• Because certification as an “Undaunted Land Steward” helps families accurately monitor and forecast range conditions, allowing steadily improved stewardship. This delivers heightened promise that natural land productivity will be sustainable.

• Because “Undaunted Land Stewards” become local-area model operations, inspiring improved stewardship on an ever-expanding amount of privately-owned rangeland in Montana.

• Because certification provides a mechanism for Montana ranch families to collectively demonstrate how modern ranching delivers positive environmental benefits -- to fish and wildlife, to preservation of open space, water quality and other resources -- far beyond its significance to high-quality food production.
  

Undaunted Stewardship® is a cooperative and multi-faceted program led by federal, state and private sector agencies, seeking to ensure the long-term maintenance of the environmental quality and economic productivity of privately-owned agricultural landscapes, especially in areas rich in history along the Lewis & Clark Trail in Montana.