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Kennedy Koss snuggles with her cat on her family's land in Eastern Montana on May 11, 2013. The Koss's work with The Nature Conservancy on the “grass bank" project which is an innovative way to leverage conservation gains, in which ranchers can graze their cattle at discounted rates on Conservancy land in exchange for improving conservation practices on their own “home” ranches. In 2002, the
Conservancy began leasing parts of the ranch to neighboring ranchers who were suffering from several years of severe drought essentially offering the Matador’s grass to neighboring ranches in exchange for their participation in conservation efforts. Thirteen ranchers graze their cattle on the Matador and the grassbank has enabled TNC to leverage conservation on more than 225,000 additional acres of private land without the cost of purchase of the land or of easements. The grassbank has helped keep ranchers from “busting sod,” or plowing up native grassland to farm it; helped remove obstacles to pronghorn antelope migration; improved habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse and reduced the risk of Sage-Grouse colliding with fences; preserved prairie dog towns (thereby preserving an important food source for the endangered black-footed ferret) and prevented the spread of noxious weeds. (Photo By Ami Vitale)

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Ami Vitale
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Kennedy Koss snuggles with her cat on her family's land in Eastern Montana on May 11, 2013. The Koss's work with The Nature Conservancy on the “grass bank" project which is an innovative way to leverage conservation gains, in which ranchers can graze their cattle at discounted rates on Conservancy land in exchange for improving conservation practices on their own “home” ranches. In 2002, the <br /> Conservancy began leasing parts of the ranch to neighboring ranchers who were suffering from several years of severe drought essentially offering the Matador’s grass to neighboring ranches in exchange for their participation in conservation efforts. Thirteen ranchers graze their cattle on the Matador and the grassbank has enabled TNC to leverage conservation on more than 225,000 additional acres of private land without the cost of purchase of the land or of easements. The grassbank has helped keep ranchers from “busting sod,” or plowing up native grassland to farm it; helped remove obstacles to pronghorn antelope migration; improved habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse and reduced the risk of Sage-Grouse colliding with fences; preserved prairie dog towns (thereby preserving an important food source for the endangered black-footed ferret) and prevented the spread of noxious weeds. (Photo By Ami Vitale)