The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holding a meeting tonight to discuss opportunities for grazing relief on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in response to the fire emergency in the Lodgepole Complex.

On July 24, 2017, soon after the Lodgepole Complex fire in Montana began, FWS began identifying opportunities to help local ranchers impacted by fire. Refuge Manager, Paul Santavy, initiated talks with the Garfield County Commissioner about holding a public meeting and began making plans to provide grazing relief for local ranchers’ cattle that were displaced by the fire. Currently, there are two local ranchers who will be moving their cattle to graze on the refuge.

Information about the meeting is as follows:

Date: Friday, July 28, 2017

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Jordan, MT

Address: Hwy 200 and Main St., Jordan, MT

Venue Phone: 406-557-2866

The meeting will follow an informal open-house format and is hosted by the Garfield County Conservation District.

There is a long history of grazing on Charles M. Russell NWR, and prescriptive livestock grazing is used as a habitat management tool to achieve goals for wildlife habitat. Charles M. Russell NWR is one of more than 560 national wildlife refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System – a system of lands set aside to conserve wildlife and habitat for the American people.

To learn more about Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge visit: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/charles_m_russell/