HIGHLIGHT  2025 Board Meeting Calendar
The 2025 MACD Meeting Calendar is available here. You can find additional information about MACD, district, and partner meetings and events on MACD's web-based Events Calendar.

Executive Committee Meeting | February 3

MACD Finance Committee | February 12

MACD Board Meeting | February 17

Big Hole Water Quality February Meeting | February 19

HIGHLIGHT  MACD Legislative Meet and Greet | January 23 in Helena

Conservation Districts Awareness Day | January 23 in Helena

Western Montana Grazing & Ag Conference | January 30-31 in Missoula

Montana Farmer’s Union Annual Women’s Conference | January 31-February 1 in Malta

2025 MWCC Virtual Annual Meeting | February 3-4 Via Zoom

 HIGHLIGHT  2025 Soil Health Symposium | February 4-6 in Billings

Montana Farmer’s Union Annual Women’s Conference | February 7-9 in Fairmont

Association of Montana Floodplain Managers Annual Conference | February 25-28 in Missoula

 NEW  Aquatic Pet Rehoming Event | April 29 in Missoula

MWCC Conservation Conversations: Contracting for Watershed Conservation | January 22

 NEW  NASCA Webinar - Engaging State Legislators & Influencing Policy: Effective Strategies & Actions (Part 2) | January 22

Rural Resilience Webinar: Stimulating Native Grass Growth With Goat Grazing Techniques | January 23

 NEW  Invasive Annual Grasses in Montana Presentation | February 4

Prairie Dog Management Workshop | February 6

Agronomy Workshop | February 18

Rural Resilience Webinar: Enriching Soil Health With Vermicast Applications | February 27

 NEW  Farm Succession/Transition Planning | March 1

 DUE SOON  2025 Montana Wetland and Watershed Stewardship Awards Call for Nominations | Deadline: January 24
The Montana Wetland Council and the Montana Watershed Coordination Council are seeking nominations for the 2025 Montana Wetland and Watershed Stewardship Awards.

 HIGHLIGHT   NEW   DUE SOON  DEQ Big Sky Emissions Reduction Roadmap | Deadline: January 31
Please take a 10-minute survey and help Montana DEQ develop the Big Sky Emissions Reduction Roadmap, a comprehensive air pollution reduction plan.

 NEW  FWP Seeking Applicants for North-central Montana Citizen Advisory Committee | Deadline: February 4 
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking applicants to fill volunteer positions on the north-central Montana (FWP Region 4) Citizen Advisory Committee. The CAC is a general advisory committee that provides input and feedback to FWP on diverse issues, from wildlife and fisheries management to access, state parks, outdoor recreation, and law enforcement.

 NEW  FWP seeks applicants for southeast MT Citizens Advisory Council | Deadline: February 7
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking applicants to fill volunteer positions on the Region 7 Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) in southeast Montana. The CAC is a general advisory committee that provides input and feedback to FWP on diverse issues, from wildlife and fisheries management to access, state parks, outdoor recreation, and law enforcement. For more information or to request an application form, email Marla Prell at mprell@mt.gov or call 406-234-0926.

 HIGHLIGHT   NEW  Winter Farmer's Market | March 2 in Hysham
Treasure County Conservation District is looking for CDs to table at the Winter Farmer's Market on March 2nd in Hysham.

 HIGHLIGHT  Seeking Nominees for the 2025 Leopold Conservation Award | March 3
The Leopold Conservation Award in Montana is proudly presented to private landowners who are dedicated to leaving their land better than how they found it.

 NEW  Nominations Open for 2025 Montana Environmental Stewardship Award | Deadline: May 1
The Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Montana Environmental Stewardship Award. Each year, MSGA honors a Montana ranch that exemplifies environmental stewardship and demonstrates a commitment toward improved sustainability within the beef industry.

 NEW  Help Save USGS Stream Gages
The USGS currently has 10 gages that are in line to be shut down; some with near 70 years of record. See the list of at risk stream gages and donate today to help keep these gages running.

 NEW  Forest Collaborative Groups
If you are passionate about the health of our forests and grasslands please consider joining a local collaborative group. A collaborative group is a gathering where the needs of local communities and stakeholders come together to find common ground, offering guidance to local public lands administrators.

 HIGHLIGHT  EO Survey: 2025 Statewide Employee Training
Please fill out this VERY BRIEF survey and let us know what dates would work best for your district. Statewide Employee Training will be late summer or early fall, depending on what works best for the most respondents. This training will incorporate some basic training as well as some more advanced options, details to come!

Conservation District Directory
A landing page for all of your conservation districts general information.

310 Violation Workflow Toolkit
This document establishes guidelines and procedures for the resolution of complaints and 310 violations. It outlines the process conservation districts should follow to seek judicial enforcement under Mont. Code Ann. §§ 75-7-122 and -123.

CDB 10-Minute Training Program Library
Updated 10-minute trainings from this program include Strategic Planning, Project Development & Grants, Mill Levies, Personnel, Board Engagement, Fiscal Responsibility, 310 Joint Application, Rental Equipment, Meeting Hybridization, and Meeting Minutes.

 HIGHLIGHT  Discounted ESRI subscriptions available through MACD
As of December 3, 2024, five discounted ESRI subscriptions are available through MACD. Each of these subscriptions is only $120. For more information, contact ginsterwlcc@macdnet.org.

 NEW  New Trust Lands Public Access Map
This ArcGIS map provides the locations of trust lands in Montana and identifies which ones can be publicly accessed.

How's My Waterway
Check out the EPA’s “How’s My Waterway” map to discover the details about the water bodies across the US. It shares discharge permits, monitoring locations, water uses, and condition status as well as more information for specific uses such as swimming and fish consumption.

Prescribed Fire References Document
This link contains a list of resources for learning about prescribed fire.

 DUE SOON  Registration is Open For NACD's Annual Meeting
NACD invites you to join us at the 2025 Annual Meeting! Hosted in partnership with the Utah Association of Conservation Districts, next year's meeting will take place in Salt Lake City, UT from February 8-12, 2025. Join us in the Beehive State to explore the theme "Bee the Change: Reaching New Summits in Conservation!" 

The Education Work Group Is Looking To Compile A Mini-Library
The MACD Education Work Group is creating a mini-library of the different projects and programs that districts in Montana do. Please send one project or program per email to eo@macdnet.org

New Joint Application Form 270 
The Joint Application Form 270 was recently updated (again). There were a few minor content changes, but most of the changes were formatting to make the form more user-friendly.

The Montana Conservation Menu is now live! This web resource includes grant applications, information about conservation district offices, and more.

 HIGHLIGHT   DUE SOON  Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program | Deadline: January 30

 HIGHLIGHT   DUE SOON  FWP Community Pond Program | Deadline: February 1

 HIGHLIGHT   DUE SOON  Laboratory Analyses Funding and Gear Funding | Priority Deadline: February 1

DNRC Tree Planting Grants | February 14

 Montana GLCI Educational Mini-Grants | First come first serve, funds will likely be gone before March 1

 NEW  MACD Board Meeting Minutes | December 21, 2025

Read Full Minutes Here

 HIGHLIGHT  MCDEO Roundtable Meeting Dates
MCDEO holds roundtable discussions on the third Wednesday of each month. 

MCDEO Roundtable: General Discussion | February 19 at 10am

 NEW  EO Current Board Members
There's been some shuffling on the Employee Organization Board as of our January meeting. Click the link above to see the current list of the board Members.

 NEW  Conservation Clips 

 NEW  Montana Outdoors 44th Annual Photo Issue

 NEW  DEQ water quality studies lay groundwork for Smith River restoration

 NEW  Leah Swartz: The Montana beaver conflict resolution program — tools for coexistence 

 NEW  St. Mary project receives $46.5 million from continuing resolution

 NEW  Q&A on Regional Conservation Trends with Brianna Henry

Want a meeting, event, job, funding opportunity, or other announcement featured in District Dispatch? Please send it to communications@macdnet.org or ginsterwlcc@macdnet.org.