Life in the Land: MT Fish, Wildlife, & Parks’ Mike Ruggles; agency partnerships in Central Montana

Mike Ruggles is the Region 5 Supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Mike has spent much of the last 10+years in the field working with wildlife and communities connected to the Musselshell River in Central Montana. The 350 miles of the Musselshell River flows through a great deal of agricultural lands, supports migratory birds and a variety of aquatic species, and has experienced a great deal of channelization over the past 150 years due to infrastructure for highways, mining, railroad, and irrigation.

Mike will speak with us about the significance of agency positions creating relationships with folks on the ground and having them help guide the work, the value in honest dialogue and the need to break habits of making assumptions about different sectors or demographics on the land. He has great insight for folks working both in government agency, as well as landowners. He shares on his work with the Musselshell Watershed Coalition; a watershed group that brings together a variety of stakeholders to restore the natural floodplain of the river, and create communication around the needs of the river and water users. Mike also speaks to the value in connecting communities to their own environments, and an exciting project that MT FWP is partnering on with Musselshell County.

LINKS:

Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks

Musselshell Watershed Coalition

Connect to your local Conservation District

This episode is part of the Life in the Land project, which is a series of films and podcasts produced by Stories for Action, which hears from folks that interact with the complexities of Montana's landscapes, speaking to the value of locally-led work and the holistic approaches needed for the health of communities and the ecosystems they're a part of. Find out more about the project and watch the films at LifeintheLand.org

Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to create human connection and advance a thriving planet for all. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction