What is the Lower Musselshell Conservation District?

The Lower Musselshell Conservation District provides private landowners in Golden Valley, Musselshell, and parts of Rosebud county with the tools, education, and resources to implement conservation practices which protect and promote the wise use of our natural resources. We are a partner of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts and the Big Sky Watershed Corps Program. The conservation district works with and provides fiscal sponsorship for the Musselshell Watershed Coalition – an informal partnership of landowners, water users associations, conservation districts, state and federal agencies in the Musselshell Valley. We share an office with the Natural Resource Conservation Service in Roundup, MT and work in partnership with NRCS to promote scientifically sound, local conservation.

The conservation district is overseen by a board of supervisors. These supervisors are elected and volunteer their time. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. A part-time administrator to handles the day-to-day operations of the conservation district. The district hosts a Big Sky Watershed Corpsmember who assists with water quality monitoring, education, outreach, and coordination throughout the Musselshell Watershed. The district’s fuel mitigation program is overseen by a part-time forester.

Meet our board and staff.

Board of Supervisors

Pam Liggett

Urban Supervisorf

Staff

Justin Somers

District Forester

NRCS Staff

Abby Robson

SGI Specialist

The history of the LMCD...

The Lower Musselshell Conservation District (LMCD) was formed in 1943. It consists of 2,053,120acres, covering all of Musselshell and Golden Valley counties and a portion of Rosebud county. Our headquarters are located in Roundup, Montana. The landscape of the district flows from the foothills of west central Montana to the sedimentary plains of eastern Montana. The Musselshell River intersects the district, with a valley floor from about half to three miles in width. Although the original meanders were destroyed by the Milwaukee Railroad, some remain along with a few cottonwood stands within the agriculture-dominated terrain.

South of the Musselshell River are the Bull Mountains uplands; a region of deeply dissected residual uplands characterized by narrow canyons and drainages and topped by isolated sandstone mesas and buttes. North of the Musselshell a vast stretch of broken prairie spreads out for miles. Grassland and sagebrush steppe dominate the landscape of the Musselshell Valley, and as such, dryland farming and cattle operations take the lion’s share of land use.

The cities of Roundup and Ryegate are the incorporated cities within the district. The district works with area schools, sponsoring volunteer water monitoring programs and outdoor classrooms.

Working together with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Musselshell Watershed Coalition, LMCD provides a means for interested people in the community to work together for natural resource conservation and development. The objective of the district is to carry out the treatment of each acre of land according to its needs, based on its capabilities and to address these needs in the best possible manner. We provide a means for all interested people in the community to work together for natural resources conservation and development. Participation is strictly voluntary. The Conservation District works to protect the natural  resources of the district, its soil and minerals, forests, waters, and wildlife.

Since the 2011 flooding and the 2012 Dahl fires the District has been working to assist and engage citizens in the Lower Musselshell Basin with recovery efforts. Currently, the district is working to expand water monitoring efforts along the Musselshell. We work with the landowners and operators to identify and aid in solving problems that arise, such as streambank erosion, noxious weeds, overgrazing of range land, saline seep management, forest and timber management, water quality problems, and energy conservation. We administer grants for projects in our district. We also sponsor the Annual Outdoor Classroom for area 5th and 6th graders, and sell wildlife escape ramps, landowner map books, Plantskydd animal repellent, and seedling trees.

The Lower Musselshell Conservation District was awarded the 1998 Goodyear/National Association of Conservation Districts award, the 2000 CF Industries National Watershed Award, the 2000 Montana Watershed Stewardship Award, and several newsletter awards. In 2013, the conservation district became a partner in the statewide Big Sky Watershed Corps program, a partnership of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts, Montana Watershed Coordination Council, and the Montana Conservation Corps.