Montana Northern Great Plains Cooperative
Together with ranching families across Montana, The Climate Trust developed a Grasslands Carbon Cooperative supporting the protection of over 48,000 acres of native grasslands located across Musselshell, Phillips, Rosebud, and Valley Counties in Montana. By partnering with accredited land trusts to place perpetual conservation easements, this carbon project advances the preservation of grasslands in North America’s Great Plains and avoids emissions from the release of soil carbon by preventing land conversion to cropland in regions experiencing high financial conversion pressures. Established on formerly glaciated plains, these grassland ecosystems are a mosaic of native grass species and sagebrush steppe that provide critical habitat for a variety of declining grassland bird species and mammals, like greater-sage grouse, black-footed ferret, and pronghorn.
“I saw firsthand how The Climate Trust helps people continue to do what they love in a way that supports climate-positive outcomes as well as more immediate needs for people and nature.”
– Brian Martin, Montana Grasslands Conservation Director, The Nature Conservancy
Included in the Cooperative are the Roen and Fauth family ranchers, who are dedicated to protecting their grasslands from future development. The Climate Trust is actively adding new projects to the cooperative to increase the pace and scale of grassland conservation in Montana.
Project Highlight: Roen Ranch
Situated in the Musselshell Valley of central Montana, the Roen Ranch conservation easement and carbon project safeguards over 3,600 acres of undulating rangeland. The Roens, a young and dynamic ranching couple, acquired the land in 2016. Through thoughtful land stewardship, the Roens rehabilitated and revitalized the grasslands while fostering a sustainable ranching enterprise. Their endeavors to rejuvenate waterways, enhance grassland production, and implement grazing rotations to alleviate bird and livestock conflicts earned them the Montana Land Reliance’s William F. Long Conservation Award for protecting critical bird habitat in 2022.
The state of Montana is home to some of the most extensive remaining intact grassland habitat in the United States. The revenue generated from carbon credits assists the Roens in the preservation of grasslands and the enhancement of ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate stress. Furthermore, the property adjoins State Trust and Bureau of Land Management lands, adhering to conservation principles that support local and national grassland management goals. The conservation of Roen Ranch significantly contributes to the protection of open spaces, wildlife habitats, and working lands within the Musselshell Valley.
Project Highlight: Fauth Ranch
Located within core sage grouse habitat of Montana’s Northern Great Plains, the Fauth Ranch spans over 8,000 acres of sagebrush steppe and mixed grass prairie just eight miles north of the Musselshell River. The Fauths, a ranching family with a rich history over multiple generations, have chosen to permanently protect their soil carbon and ensure their land forever remains in a grassland state by recording a no-till conservation easement. The easement promotes grazing management best practices that retain open-space lands, safeguard critical habitat for grassland species, and maintain the traditional, rural character of the land.
At the project’s start, the ranch was home to one sage grouse lek, with 15 additional leks identified on neighboring land. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional assessment, a mere 10% increase in cropland within 12 miles could reduce this local lek density by more than 50%. With this project, the Fauth’s have added their land to a total of over 26,000 acres of adjoining properties in the Musselshell Valley that will continue to be conserved. Preventing habitat fragmentation like this benefits a diverse array of native species of concern, including Baird’s sparrow, Sprague’s pipit, McCown’s longspur, and lark bunting, in addition to the sage grouse.
Montana’s Northern Great Plains Grassland Carbon Cooperative is registered under the Climate Action Reserve Grassland Protocol and is subject to third party verification by registry-approved auditors. All projects undergo annual monitoring by land trusts and complete periodic rangeland health assessments to ensure land management within the project area continues to support a healthy rangeland environment. The co-benefits of these projects include:
- Soil Health: promotes soil stability and avoids erosion by maintaining grassland vegetation
- Water Quality: prevents application and runoff of pesticides, fertilizers, and sediments associated with croplands into waterways
- Habitat Integrity: supports habitat connectivity for rare mammals and bird species like chestnut-collared longspur, burrowing owl, and mountain plover
- Increasing Landowner Access: enrolling multiple ranches in the carbon cooperative allows smaller landowners to access carbon markets by reducing minimum acreage requirements
Our Mission & Vision
As a nonprofit organization, our investments are driven by climate impact and put landowners first. We work alongside our partners to develop and fund projects that support grassland conservation, reforestation, and improved forest management strategies.