Conner Ranch tames ‘tough country’ with conservation

<p>GRASS COUNTRY: Dan and Cindi Conner, who received the 2019 Excellence in Grazing Management Award from the South Dakota Society for Range Management, walk through the grass in one of their pastures where cattle, sheep and wildlife thrive together.</p>

<p>WESTERN WELCOME: Dan welcomes tour participants to Conner Ranch, located 30 miles north of ranch north of Belle Fourche, S.D.</p>

<p>TOUR GROUP: About 50 people participated in the tour. The group included ranchers, townspeople, range management consultants, college students studying range management, and staff from public and private agencies who partnered with the Conners on conservation and wildlife projects. Organizations and agencies represented included the National Resources Conservation Service, South Dakota State University, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, South Dakota Soil Conservation Districts, Pheasants Forever and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks.</p>

<p>RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE: Cindi and Dan hold the Excellence in Grazing Management award sign presented to them by SDSRM. Pictured is Pete Bauman (left), SDSU Extension range specialist and SDSRM president; Cindi and Dan Conner; Matt Odden, SDSRM president-elect and Natural Resources Conservation Service resource unit conservationist, Hot Springs, S.D.; and Jessica Michalski, rancher and SDSRM awards committee chair, Willow Lake, S.D.</p>

<p>GRASS STUDY: Bauman (kneeling, left) and Mitch Faulkner, (kneeling, right), NRCS area range management specialist, Belle Fourche, discuss grass in a pasture at Conner Ranch as attendees, including Garrett Winkler (standing, center), son of Paul Winkler, a rancher from Newell, S.D., and Ellen Reddick (standing, right), rancher, St. Onge, S.D., listen in.</p>

<p>GRASS MATTERS: Ryan Swanson, a senior at South Dakota State University and president of the SDSU Range Management Club, examines grass species on the Conner Ranch. Swanson’s family farms and ranches near Chamberlain, S.D. He hopes to be able to join the family operation after graduating.</p>

<p>REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT: Bauman tells tour participants that he is most impressed by the Conners’ voluntary adoption of wildlife conservation principals and their understanding of the value of the partnerships with federal and state agencies and private organizations. “The Conners could have chosen to simply ranch for the livestock only,” he said. “They could have chosen to ignore federal and state partners/neighbors. Instead, they were innovative, open and willing to learn with their neighbors. I’m sure it’s not all roses, but they have done something remarkable.”</p>

<p>RANGE CAGE: A range cage protects grass inside from being grazed. The cage shows how much grass was produced during the year and how much had been grazed. The Conners try to take only half of the grass produced each year.</p>

<p>HALF LEFT: There a lot of grass left in one of the pastures that the Conners grazed. They have a rest-rotation grazing system. “It’s impressive how well the Conners consistently manage their ranch and the subsequent resiliency it has to withstand climatic extremes, as evidenced by the condition of the ranch in drought years,” said Matt Gottlob, Pheasants Forever range and wildlife conservationist. “This sustainability ensures the viability of the ranch for years to come.”</p>

<p>FOUND HERE: Sage grouse thrive on the Conner Ranch. The Conners took care not to eliminate sage brush, which the grouse feed on, from their pastures. The Conner Ranch provides some of the best sage grouse habitat in South Dakota, according to Mitch Iverson, Bureau of Land Management rangeland management specialist, South Dakota Field Office.</p>

<p>GROUSE PROTECTOR: A vinyl flap hangs on one of the Conners’ fences near sage grouse leks — open places where the birds gather in the spring for mating. The markers help low-flying sage grouse avoid collisions with the fence.</p>

<p>WORK ALONE: Dan and his wife, Cindi, listen to a presentation during the tour. They manage the 10,000-acre ranch without any additional help.</p>

<p>RIPARIAN PROTECTION: The Conners only graze riparian areas in the late fall. They adopted the practice in the 1970s, long before it was a recommended practice. “By managing the timing of livestock use on riparian areas along Antelope Creek, the Conners have created some of the the highest functioning riparian areas in the region. I don't have a baseline to compare it to as they incorporated this management over 40 years ago, but there are few, if any, ranches that have riparian areas in as good of condition as theirs, says Matt Gottlob, Pheasant Forever range and wildlife conservationist.</p>

<p>WATER SOURCE: Antelope Creek flows through Conner Ranch. The creek, stock dams and a well-pipeline system provide a reliable, year-round source of water for livestock and wildlife.</p>

<p>DEEP COVER: Tanse Hermann, district conservationist, Meade County, Sturgis, S.D., walks through grass below an earthen dam that helps control Antelope Creek flood waters.</p>

<p>LOOKING AND LEARNING: Ryan Wilen (left), Sturgis, S.D., a sophomore at SDSU and a member of the SDSU Range Club; and Ryan Swanson, Chamberlain, a SDSU senior and president of the SDSU Range Club, identify grasses and forbs in one the Conner pastures. Both hope to join their family’s ranch after graduating from SDSU.</p>

<p>PERFECT SCORES: Andrea Westlake (front), NRCS range management specialist, and Mitch Faulkner, NRCS area range management specialist, both from Belle Fourche, tally the scores from a plant identification contest conducted on the tour.</p>

<p>ROOT DIG: Herrmann sinks a spade into the prairie to get a look at the grass roots in one of the Conner pastures. Kyle Schell (left), a Belle Fourche rancher; Bauman; Swanson; and Matt Metzger, range management consultant, look on.</p>

<p>PLANT ID: Emily Helms (left), NRCS state range management specialist, Huron; and Ellen Reddick, rancher, St. Onge, S.D., look closely at a plant they found growing in one of pastures. “Good grazing management requires proper rest of grazed plants, not grazing plants too closely to the ground and changing the season of use for pastures when possible,” Helms says. “The Conners practice all of these in their grazing management. Their management allows for pastures to be deferred during certain times of the year, which helps maintain food and cover for wildlife. And all of this helps the Conners to be successful and happy in their stewardship of the land.”</p>

<p>FUTURE GRAZIER: Clara Blair, daughter of Chad and Mary Blair, was the youngest person on the tour. She is being held by her mother, Mary.</p>