Gift of Owning Land Comes with Responsibilities

Larry K. Holzworth, CCA, CPAg

Owning land is a gift but, with it, also comes responsibility. If you own

land—a ranch, farm, small acreage or city lot—how you take care of that

land affects your neighbors, community and future generations. Land

ownership means “land stewardship” and includes the responsibility for

managing the property in an environmentally conscientious manner that

helps ensure its health and long-term productivity. For example, if your

neighbor doesn’t address a noxious weed infestation, then you and the

larger community will be impacted by more noxious weeds and less

productive land for pollinators, wildlife, livestock and crops.

The role of a land steward includes many tasks and requires vigilant

monitoring and assessment. Good land stewardship begins with a plan to

identify natural resource problems, opportunities and Best Management

Practices (BMP) to facilitate your land use objectives. After identifying your

land use objectives, an inventory of the soil types and properties,

vegetation, and water quantity and quality should be analyzed in relation to

your objectives. Perhaps, your soil is too rocky or saline to accomplish your

objectives, which could require modifying your original land use plan. A

good land inventory also can help you formulate alternatives to solve

resource concerns and make decisions on how best to implement a plan of

action.

There are resources to help you with your inventory and plan of action. They

include on-site technical assistance from your local USDA Natural

Resources Conservation Service and the Montana Cooperative Extension

Service.

There are a number of activities and Best Management Practices (BMP)

you can implement to remedy resource concerns beginning with periodic

monitoring of the current land condition, such as: identifying invasive species (weed) threats for early detection and removal; wildlife habitat

maintenance and improvement through the proper management of native

species; using the land within its physical capability, i.e. not cultivating

shallow or rocky soils; protecting the land from water and wind erosion, i.e.

maintaining cover crops and residue; maintaining healthy soils-physically,

biologically and chemically to maintain or enhance vegetative production;

protecting water quality with riparian buffers and allowing waterways to flow

naturally; thinning forests to prevent wildfire; planting deep rooted

vegetation that helps retain water for infiltration into the soil to help recharge

the groundwater and maintain streamflow throughout the summer;

establishing grassed waterways to prevent rill and gully erosion; proper

grazing use to maintain production, protect soils from erosion, enhance

water quality and resist invasive species; or the simple upkeep of a

boundary fence that shows pride in land ownership.

Knowing your land and its ecological functions are key to practicing good

land stewardship. Our land ethic is directly linked to the well-being of our

society and the regeneration of our natural resources for the future. The

adage “take care of the land and it will take care of you,’ or as I like to say,

“happy land=happy plants=happy animals=clean water= happy people,”

applies to the gift and responsibility of caring for our own small piece of this

earth.

Links to publications or online resources for additional information:

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov

http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov

Weed Management on Small Acreages in Montana. May 2018. 30p.

Montana State University Extension. EB 0227.