PERC’s Paradise Valley Brucellosis Compensation Fund helps ranchers and conservationists share the cost of living with wildlife. The fund is designed to help ranchers weather a cattle quarantine in the event of a brucellosis outbreak—a disease that can transfer from elk to cattle and can cause cows to abort their young.
Thankfully, we haven’t had to tap the compensation fund yet, but knowing the financial safety net exists has brought relief to the ranchers of Montana’s Paradise Valley who regularly host elk herds on their property.
The fund would not be possible without key partners from the conservation community who joined us in establishing the program, which is entirely free to ranchers. We recognized these partners this month at the Paradise Valley Working Lands Meeting alongside the landowners whose lives they’ve positively impacted.
Together with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Spruance Foundation, and Credova, we’re ushering in a new era of cooperative, voluntary conservation.
Below are some highlights from the landowner meeting taken by talented photographer Louise Johns.
Local rancher Druska Kinkie of Emigrant Peak Ranch addresses the group. She explained the financial risk brucellosis poses and the comfort she finds in knowing there is an emergency fund that can help her withstand a quarantine in the event of an outbreak.
Ranchers in Paradise Valley gather monthly to discuss the needs of their community and think through creative solutions.
PERC CEO Brian Yablonski presents a conservation partner award to Blake Henning, chief conservation officer of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Local rancher Malou Anderson-Ramirez understands the important role her family and property can play in helping regional wildlife thrive.
Partnering with other local organizations is critical to advancing a more collaborative and sustainable approach to conservation.
The ranchers of Paradise Valley offer a valuable conservation service by providing habitat to species ranging from grizzly bears to elk. As an organization interested in seeing the valley’s wildlife populations sustained, it is in our interest to compensate these landowners for the costs they incur from providing habitat.
