Ranch owners conserve cottonwood forest

The Nature Conservancy has purchased a conservation easement that will preserve another 256 acres of Milk River cottonwood forest on the Cornwell Ranch in northeastern Montana.

The easement is the fourth the family has completed with the Conservancy, bringing the total to more than 12,000 acres.

The ranch, which is west of Glasgow, includes some of the largest blocks of cottonwood forest remaining on the Milk River, according to The Nature Conservancy.

Streamside forests are an especially important habitat for breeding and migrating birds across the West, the Conservancy says.

The Cornwells have wintered cattle on the property and will continue to do so under the terms of the Buggy Creek easement, according to a Conservancy News Release.

"I've been through three sodbusting cycles, and I don't want to see that again," Lee Cornwell said. "These easements just make sense for the land and our family. We can secure a future for our livestock and agriculture, for the family, and for the wildlife."

Lee Cornwell's grandfather came to Montana from Virginia in 1889 at the urging of a sister, who was cooking at a mining camp at the time.

The family has operated a cow-calf operation since 1947.

It is ensuring the land continues to be used for raising livestock while providing high quality habitat for wildlife, the Conservancy said.

"For more than a century, the Cornwell family has been great stewards of this land," said Brian Martin, the Conservancy's director for the Northern Prairies. "Their vision and commitment to sustainable ranching shows in the wildlife found on their ranch."

Some of the funding for the easement was provided through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, a matching grant program that has helped conserve tens of thousands of acres wetland, grassland, and forest habitat across the Hi-Line. The program also supports producer efforts to improve grazing management, restore wetlands, and create wetlands for wildlife and livestock water.

The amount of the purchase was not disclosed.

The property also contains a 26-acre oxbow wetland frequented by waterfowl and wading birds, as well as, providing valuable habitat for white-tailed deer and other common wildlife for which the Milk River valley has become well known among hunters.

Even though they account for less than 1 percent of all the land, streamside forests support more species of birds than any other habitat, according to the Conservancy.