Conservation, Preservation and Restoration
CPR at SGI
SGI’s mission is to demonstrate economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive ranching techniques while promoting the Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration of native culture and native species (CPR for our Earth Mother). SGI’s goal is to create an exemplary role model that demonstrates alternatives and multi-faceted modalities of sustaining rural and agricultural communities for the local ranching community and the region, as well as providing hands-on experience for international guests, students, interns and volunteers. What we are doing here also directly influences the preservation and renewal of the cultural heritage of the people here on the Crow Reservation, as they seek to reclaim their children and their cultural pride.
This is a living Learning Center where a diverse team of advisors and volunteers are restoring land devastated by drought and overgrazing by cattle; revitalizing degraded soils; demonstrating the economic and cultural viability of buffalo herds; practicing natural horse training and holistic care; creating organic gardens and cultivating native medicinal plants; and providing experiential learning for the local ranching community, the prairie region, as well as internationally. SGI works collaboratively with a variety of educators, scientists, and organizations to implement state-of-the-art science through on-the-ground projects.
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The Happy Heart Ranch rises from the home base up broad, dissected ridges forming the northern foothills of the Pryor Mountains. The land is characterized by open ridges covered in grass and forbs, with riparian zones in between fed by intermittent and permanent springs and streams. Vast prairie grasslands give way to scattered copses of white-bark pine and aspen, evolving into solid stands of Douglas fir and pine on the steeper slopes. The transitional ecotone between the prairie and the mountain is rich in wildlife habitat, and provides bountiful resources for the buffalo and horses. All management decisions are based on careful utilization of these resources to prevent depletion or destruction.
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"Doc" in tall grass
Restoration
SGI is dedicated to restoring the land and its bountiful resources that have been compromised by past management practices to their original, healthy, unimpaired condition. Overgrazing by past cattle operations and current trespass cattle has compromised the growth and vigor of some of the native forage species. Cheat grass has invaded several pastures. However, due to numerous springs and the soil productivity, the native plant component has not been lost. Prolonged localized drought continues to draw trespass cattle which, on their own or aided by desperate owners, move onto the richer and more lush pastures of the Happy Heart Ranch throughout the grazing season.
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Preservation:
SGI has preserved the native sagebrush prairie, which has never been plowed, nor fragmented from oil and gas drilling, large power lines or communication towers. There are no housing developments beyond the established ranch headquarters, and minimal roads used only for ranch management access. Contiguous blocks of native prairie are rare, and provide important habitat for at-risk wildlife species such as Greater Sage-Grouse, black-tailed prairie dog, black-footed ferret, swift fox, mountain Plover, sharp-tailed Grouse, bald eagle, and American bison.
"As a lifetime land management consultant I visit 100's of farms and ranches and help people improve their land. This ranch is different from most conventionally managed ecosystems. The ranch is not driven by modern agriculture (to maximize production) but to take care of the land and its' diverse natural environment. Tana is dedicated to learn, improve, and share innovative solutions to prevent land management problems...and be an educational showplace that can teach others."
Wayne Burleson, Range Management Services
Fencing:
SGI is in the process of securing the perimeter through upgraded fencing to enhance the restoration and recovery process that began when cattle grazing was eliminated as a management option in 1999 and the current sustainable ranching principles were put into practice.
» Back to Top «Grazing Management
The sagebrush grassland requires minimal management beyond control of trespass cattle and managed moderate rotational grazing of the buffalo and horse herds. Buffalo have always been an integral component of the native prairies. Their hoof action is unlike domestic cattle, churning the ground rather than compacting it, integrating organic matter and seeds into the upper soil horizon. They move continuously over the landscape, and do not gather and “camp” in the sensitive pond and riparian areas like cattle.
Horses have a shorter evolutionary relationship with prairies than buffalo, but are still a positive addition to the prairie ecosystem if their numbers are low and grazing management disperses them appropriately. The ranch currently supports 18 horses.
The average 150 head collective herd size of buffalo and paint horses that is targeted by Happy Heart Ranch is a low number for the acreage available, allowing stock rotation and pasture rest as necessary.
The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) grazing standard is used to manage grazing of the buffalo and horse herds, with the goals of increasing native grass and sagebrush height and elimination of the non-native cheatgrass. The objectives of this system is to maintain or improve integrity of native range (vegetation species composition, ground cover, plant vigor, and soil building process); maintain or improve habitat function, serving to meet habitat needs of Sage-Grouse on a year-round basis (vegetation structure and species composition); and maintain large intact native landscapes through sustainable livestock grazing management.
By timing grazing rest and rotating livestock among the 8 pastures in a manner that benefits native vegetation production, survival, and reproduction, important native plant components will continue to occur. These sagebrush habitats naturally provide varying densities of sagebrush to accommodate native wildlife needs for reproduction and winter survival.
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Springs
Springs are being assessed by a qualified hydrologist and ecologist to determine, site-specifically, the best approach to creating optimum habitat with the least disturbance to existing habitat. A combination of techniques are being used, including fencing sensitive areas and source protection; piping water to an existing ephemeral stream bed or permanent pond/wetland area; and excavation of spring sites or pond areas, as necessary.
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Native Plants
A variety of native wetland and riparian vegetation species are being planted in the spring and downstream riparian areas. These areas provide high quality habitat for many riparian-dependent wildlife species.
Wildlife Habitat
Many wildlife species benefit from the restoration of sagebrush grassland and riparian habitat through managed grazing, increasing and protecting permanent water sources, planting a diversity of riparian vegetation species, and managing for native upland vegetation. The sagebrush grassland community required by Sage-Grouse is improving; prairie dog colonies are expanding, providing habitat for other species such as the black-footed ferret which requires prairie dog burrows for security and prairie dogs as food; swift foxes, Bald Eagles and Burrowing Owls benefit and often depend heavily on prairie dogs as food, while swift foxes and Burrowing Owls use prairie dog burrows as refuges. Mountain Plovers selectively nest in prairie dog colonies. Bald Eagles easily find prey in a thriving sagebrush/grassland habitat. Sharp-tailed grouse benefit from an increase in food sources, as well as nesting and winter habitats.
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Cultural Restoration
The cultural restoration that is an integral part of SGI requires certain areas be repopulated with traditional plants used for food and medicine by native people.
Restoration of buffalo, an integral component of the native ecosystem, is likewise culturally critical. Buffalo are selectively harvested for tribal food and ceremonial uses.
In addition, paint horses are the traditional horse of Plains tribes. Their beauty, endurance and adaptation to the prairie make them a highly prized cultural icon as well as a very functional horse. Keeping the genetics of this breed strong and increasing their availability contributes to the cultural restoration of the Plains tribes.
Buffalo and Conservation
Grazing Management: The sagebrush grassland requires minimal management beyond control of trespass cattle and managed moderate rotational grazing of the buffalo and horse herds.
Buffalo have always been an integral component of the native prairies. Buffalo grazing helps restore native grasses and improve soil quality. The hoof action breaks up the dead material and the crust of the ground, which allows the water to percolate into the ground to feed the grass roots. Buffalo are natural grazers that enjoy roaming the land, moving continuously over the landscape; they do not gather and “camp” in the sensitive pond and riparian areas like cattle. When they graze, buffalo don't eat below the crown of the grasses, allowing plants to regenerate, and their hooves and sizeable weight tills the soil, providing crevices for seeds to germinate.
When winter is over, bison begin to frolic, rolling on the ground and rubbing on trees and fences to shed their winter coats. Their winter coats act as efficient harvesters as seeds of natural grasses caught in the winter coat are re-deposited in the soil. Their sharp hooves break up the frozen ground in the spring, allowing water to percolate more easily, guaranteeing the grass roots will receive needed water from rains. In the fall, bison break down dead grass by rolling on the ground as well as breaking it with their hoofs. Once the grass is broken, it decomposes into the soil, and the seeds grow easily the next spring. Bison also use their hooves to work manure and urine back into the soil.
On cattle ranches, cow hooves create problems. Their flat round hooves pack the soil, killing grasses and establishing ruts. Rain has trouble percolating through the packed soil. Cattle also tend to bunch up in one area of the pasture, overgrazing the vegetation, leaving bare ground vulnerable to erosion and gullying. Buffalo create the opposite effect; leveling out uneven land as they break down rough areas, aerating and fertilizing the ground.
In these ways, the buffalo herd is playing a key role in the restoration of the tall grass prairie, keeping the biological circle healthy. Indeed, the buffalo on the Happy Heart Ranch are essential to the prairie ecology. The buffalo are true native prairie animals demonstrating their supreme adaptation to their natural habitat.
Bison raised on grass provide a very healthy meat product , with a high ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids, providing health benefits that may contribute to decreased heart disease, cancer, learning disabilities, and a multitude of other diseases. Bison raised on natural grasses with varied species of shrubs, grasses and forbs in the wild have all that is necessary to achieve their potential.
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