McKenzie County Farmer - Latest News

Travis Bateman
Farmer Staff Writer

International recognition highlights the vital role ranchers play in conservation, wildfire prevention, wildlife habitat, food production and stewardship of the Northern Plains.

Across the sweeping native prairies, rugged Badlands and rolling grazing lands of western North Dakota, ranching has always been far more than raising cattle. It is a way of life built upon stewardship, resilience and an enduring commitment to caring for the land.

Now, that work is receiving international recognition.
The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), a global initiative recognizing the importance of rangelands and the people who manage them for food production, wildlife conservation, healthy ecosystems and rural communities. The designation is supported by organizations representing ranchers, scientists, conservationists and land managers around the world.

In the United States, bipartisan resolutions were introduced in both the House and Senate recognizing the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. The Senate resolution was sponsored by Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), while the House companion resolution was introduced by Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.). The resolutions recognize the work of ranchers, researchers, conservationists and others who contribute to maintaining millions of acres of working landscapes throughout the United States and around the world. The Public Lands Council (PLC) has publicly endorsed the congressional effort.

For ranching communities across western North Dakota - including McKenzie County, where public and private grazing lands exist side by side - the recognition reflects work that has been quietly taking place for generations.
More than Grasslands

Rangelands often receive little attention compared to forests, mountains or national parks, yet they represent one of Earth’s most important ecosystems.

Globally, rangelands cover nearly half of the planet’s land surface. In the United States, they encompass roughly 770 million acres, providing habitat for wildlife, storing carbon, filtering water, supporting recreation and producing much of the nation’s beef and lamb.

The United Nations established the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists to raise awareness of these landscapes and encourage sustainable management practices that balance environmental health with agricultural production.

A Landscape Familiar to
Western North Dakota
Few places better illustrate the relationship between working ranches and public lands than western North Dakota.

McKenzie County contains extensive grazing lands on both private ranches and public lands managed through the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, administered by the U.S. Forest Service. These native grasslands surround portions of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Little Missouri National Grasslands, and numerous state and private lands that together create one of the largest remaining prairie ecosystems in North America.
Livestock grazing has been part of this landscape for well over a century.
Today, ranchers carefully manage grazing through seasonal rotations, pasture rest, water development and range monitoring to maintain healthy grasslands while sustaining livestock operations.

Nationally, cattle and sheep graze approximately 22,000 federal grazing allotments covering nearly 250 million acres managed by either the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service. According to the Public Lands Council, these lands support more than 60 percent of the western cattle herd and over half of the western sheep herd, illustrating the importance of public lands grazing to American agriculture.

Ranching as Conservation
One of the primary messages behind the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is that properly managed grazing is increasingly recognized as a conservation tool.
Healthy grazing systems can improve plant diversity, recycle nutrients, stimulate new vegetative growth, reduce invasive species, protect soil from erosion and maintain the open landscapes many wildlife species depend upon.
These principles are not new to western North Dakota.

Many local ranches utilize rotational grazing, cross-fencing, water distribution systems and adaptive grazing management to avoid overuse of pastures while encouraging long-term range health.
Organizations such as the Public Lands Council and the Society for Range Management point to decades of research showing that properly managed livestock grazing can complement wildlife conservation and ecosystem management when matched to local conditions and monitored over time.

Grazing and Wildfire
Prevention
Another topic receiving growing attention is the role livestock grazing may play in reducing wildfire risk.
The Public Lands Council notes that targeted grazing can significantly reduce fine fuels - such as grasses and brush - that often contribute to rapidly spreading wildfires. PLC materials cite studies suggesting grazing can reduce wildfire risk by as much as 50 percent in some settings, while emphasizing grazing as one component of broader fuel management strategies.

In March, PLC also applauded a new memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior that seeks to strengthen grazing partnerships on public lands.
According to the organization, goals include:
• Incorporating grazing into shared stewardship agreements;
• Improving collaboration between ranchers and federal land managers;
• Making vacant grazing allotments available through permitting;
• Expanding the use of technology to monitor grazing;
• Recognizing grazing as a frontline tool for wildfire prevention.

For western North Dakota, where volunteer fire departments routinely battle grass fires fueled by dry vegetation and high winds, many land managers view fuel reduction as one of several important wildfire mitigation tools alongside prescribed burning, mechanical treatments and public education.

Stewardship Beyond Livestock
Federal grazing permits require ranchers to do considerably more than simply graze cattle.
Permit holders often construct and maintain fences, improve water developments, monitor range conditions, repair erosion damage, control invasive plants and assist land management agencies with stewardship projects.
Many ranchers are also among the first to detect wildfires in remote country because of their daily presence on the landscape.

According to the Public Lands Council, these responsibilities help conserve public lands while reducing management costs and benefiting recreation, wildlife habitat and watershed health.
Those same improvements frequently benefit hunters, anglers, hikers, campers, birdwatchers and others who recreate on public lands throughout western North Dakota.

Wildlife Benefits
Healthy rangelands support far more than livestock.
The grasslands surrounding Watford City provide habitat for elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, pheasants, songbirds and countless pollinators.
Proper grazing management can create a mosaic of vegetation heights and densities that benefit different wildlife species throughout the year.

Conservation organizations increasingly recognize that maintaining large, intact working ranches often prevents subdivision and development that permanently fragment wildlife habitat.

Technology Meets Tradition
While ranching remains rooted in generations of practical experience, technology continues to transform the industry.

GPS collars, virtual fencing systems, drones, satellite imagery and improved vegetation monitoring allow producers to make more informed grazing decisions while reducing labor requirements.
Here in western North Dakota, organizations including the North Dakota Wildlife Federation have supported virtual fencing initiatives, recognizing their potential to improve grazing management while enhancing wildlife habitat and reducing fencing impacts across large landscapes.

These tools allow ranchers greater flexibility while continuing the stewardship practices that have defined the region for generations.

Economic Engine for
Rural America
Ranching is also a major economic contributor.
According to the Public Lands Council, cattle, sheep and wool industries collectively contribute more than $73 billion annually to the national economy.

Those dollars extend well beyond the ranch gate.
Veterinarians, livestock markets, feed suppliers, fencing contractors, truck drivers, equipment dealerships, fuel distributors and countless small businesses all benefit from a healthy livestock industry.
In McKenzie County, agriculture continues to stand alongside energy production, tourism and recreation as one of the region’s foundational industries

Celebrating the People
Behind the Work
During National Agriculture Day earlier this year, the Public Lands Council summarized ranching with a simple observation:

“Before the food, fiber and fuel - there’s the work.”
The organization described ranching as early mornings, skilled hands and generations of knowledge passed from one family to the next, emphasizing that ranching is more than an occupation - it is stewardship, responsibility and a deeply rooted way of life.

That sentiment reflects much of western North Dakota, where many ranches have remained in the same families for generations despite droughts, harsh winters, volatile markets and changing regulations.

Looking Ahead
The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is intended to do more than recognize ranchers.
It seeks to encourage dialogue among producers, conservation organizations, researchers, tribal communities, policy makers and the public about how best to sustain working landscapes for future generations.
Like many land management topics, public lands grazing remains the subject of ongoing discussion. Supporters emphasize its contributions to food production, rural economies, wildfire mitigation and stewardship, while others advocate for different approaches to balancing livestock production, wildlife conservation and ecosystem protection. Land management agencies increasingly rely on monitoring, scientific research and adaptive management to guide those decisions.

For western North Dakota, however, one point is difficult to dispute.
The ranchers who rise before dawn to check cattle, repair fences, monitor water, manage grazing and care for the land are helping shape the landscape that residents and visitors alike enjoy today.

Whether viewed from the saddle, the seat of a pickup, a hiking trail through the Badlands or a ridge overlooking the Little Missouri River, the open spaces of McKenzie County tell a story written over generations - one of stewardship, hard work and a lasting commitment to the land that sustains both people and wildlife.