Wendell Thacker 



The Soil Conservation Service's primary responsibility is to nonfederal 

 lands, of which Montana has more than 65 million acres. Of these, some 41 

 million acres, or about 63 percent are rangeland. If only from a purely 

 statistical viewpoint, rangeland has to be important to Montana and to the 

 job of the Soil Conservation Service in Montana. 



The Service has 11 full-time range conservationists in Montana and 

 about that many more employees professionally trained in range management 

 who have frequent opportiinity to apply that knowledge in their current posi- 

 tions. We recognize that professional training is a starting point. The 

 practical application of range management is a science wherein skills are 

 honed in the daily business of being or working with ranch operators. Know- 

 ledge gained in formal training, or from the many other sources available, 

 must be wed with the day-to-day, year-to-year realities of total ranch op- 

 eration. This is the complete science of range management, and no one can 

 practice it as an advisor. Only the ranch manager can put the whole thing 

 together. His are the many management decisions which can make good range 

 management a reality. 



In our occupations, most of us frequently find ourselves too close to 

 the forest to see the trees. Another individual who has a good understanding 

 of our task, or a part of it, often can see it in a different perspective 

 and suggest changes which will improve performance. This is the role of the 

 consultant, in whatever field. It is the role of the Soil Conservation Ser- 

 vice in providing technical assistance to farmers and ranchers. 



What is the condition of Montana's rangelands today? 



The Soil Conservation Service has a system for monitoring native range- 

 land which rates vegetative condition in four categories: poor, fair, good, 

 or excellent. On most sites, if the condition is good to excellent and vi- 

 gor is good, the vegetation will protect the soil from excessive erosion and 

 provide an optimum amount of grazing for livestock and wildlife. 



As condition declines to fair or poor, the plant composition changes. 

 A larger percent of the stand and production is from plants which produce 

 forage less palatable for, or not eaten by domestic livestock. Such vege- 



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