Resources
A curated library of restoration techniques, post-planting management, education materials, and Montana organizations supporting native plant restoration.
Restoration is a long process — from assessing and preparing a site, through seeding or planting, into years of monitoring and management. The resources below are organized around that workflow so you can find what you need at each stage, plus a final section of Montana organizations, education materials, and practitioner tools for going deeper.
1. Plan & Prepare
Before planting, set the site up for success: manage weeds and existing vegetation, address soil and grazing pressure, choose appropriate plant material, and where useful, use prescribed fire to prepare seedbeds.
- Organic Site Preparation for Wildflower Establishment
- Revegetation Guidelines for Western Montana: Considering Invasive Weeds
- Habitat Site Preparation (Xerces)
- Site Preparation Techniques for Forest Restoration
- NRCS Field Plantings Technical Note
- Cost-effective ecological restoration (Kimball et al., 2015)
- Seed us in the field: delivering seeds for restoration success (Shaw et al., 2020)
- A Well-Designed Goat Grazing Plan Can Reduce Noxious Weeds
- Combining active restoration and targeted grazing in invaded systems
- Montana Grazing Animal Unit Month (AUM) Estimator
- Montana Guide to Range Site, Condition and Initial Stocking Rates
- Calculating Available Forage
- A Summary of Livestock Grazing Systems Used on Western Rangelands
- Rangeland Management Strategies
- Using native grass seeding and targeted spring grazing to reduce cheatgrass invasion
- "Rebuilding the Dream" — Targeted Sheep Grazing
- Spotted Knapweed Utilization by Sequential Cattle and Sheep Grazing
- Grazing with Sheep, Goats, & Chickens
- Montana Noxious Weed Management Plan
- Weed Management on Small Acreage in Montana
- Weed Management in Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems
- Management of Goats for Controlling Noxious Weeds — a primer
- Fighting invasive species (MSU)
- Montana Noxious Weeds EDDMapS Species Listing
- Healthy Plant Communities — Ecologically-based Rangeland Weed Management
- Mowing to Manage Noxious Weeds
- Montana Invasive Species Videos (NRCS)
- Your Guide to Healthy Desert Soils for Productive Landscapes
- Gardening for Soil Health (Montana NRCS)
- Soil Building — How to Make Deep Rich Soils by Imitating Nature
- Soil Health to Enhance Ecological Restoration and Conservation
- Soil Disturbance Rehabilitation — A Desk Guide to Techniques and Monitoring
- Site Prep Techniques for Native Seeding
- Fire on the Land — Native People and Fire in the Northern Rockies
- Prescribed Fire (Native Resource Preservation)
- Prescribed Fire on Public Lands (DNRC handout)
- MT DNRC Prescribed Fire Guidelines
- MT Fire Info — Landscape
- Montana Open Burning (DEQ)
- The Use of Fire as a Tool for Controlling Invasive Plants
- DNRC Fire Ecology
- Harvesting and Saving Seeds
- Native seed collection and use in arid land reclamation — a low-tech approach
- Collecting Native Seed (USFS)
- Collecting and Using Your Own Wildflower Seed (Xerces)
- Nursery Manual for Native Plants
- Ensuring seed quality in ecological restoration (Restoration Ecology Special Issue)
- Germination of Wildland Collected Seed
- Low-tech Devices for Collecting, Processing, and Planting Seeds
2. Apply
Putting plants and seed in the ground. The right method depends on site size, terrain, plant material, budget, and timing — most projects combine more than one technique.
3. Maintain & Monitor
Restoration doesn't end at planting. The first two to three years often determine whether a project succeeds. These resources cover establishment-phase care and the common challenges that can derail it.
- Drip Irrigation — The Basics
- Irrigated Agriculture in Montana
- Irrigation Management — resources, tools, crop production
- Yard and Garden Water Management (MSU Extension)
- Irrigating with Limited Water Supplies
- How much water do my trees need? (City of Missoula)
- Water Management — The Irrigator's Pocket Guide
- A Beginner's Guide to Conservation Grazing — Part 1
- A Beginner's Guide to Conservation Grazing — Part 2
- Managing Grazing to Restore Soil Health, Ecosystem Function and Services
- Combining active restoration and targeted grazing in invaded ecosystems
- Grazing management for healthy soils
- Montana Sheep Grower Explores Value-Added Options for Livestock
- Native's Improved Grazing Carbon Program
4. Learn & Connect
Organizations to partner with, tools to deepen your practice, and education materials for the next generation of stewards.
- Find your nearest native plant nursery
- Ranchers Stewardship Alliance
- Montana Rangelands Partnership
- Montana Rangeland Resources Program (2024)
- MT Rangelands
- Montana Freshwater Partners
- Upper Musselshell Conservation District
- Plant Something Montana
- Intermountain West Joint Venture
- A Landowner's Guide to Montana FWP Programs
- Montana Native Plant Society
- Bitterroot Water Partnership
- Free the Seeds
- The MT Native Seed Nursery
- Conservation Plant Selections from the Montana-Wyoming Plant Materials Center
- Montana Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative
- Nursery Manual for Native Plants (tribal chapter)
- For Tribes, Reforesting Means Reconnection to History, Culture
- Fire and Traditional Knowledge Hot Topic (NRFSN)
- Native land map
- CSKT Restoration Program
- Whitebark pine restoration and conservation through a cultural lens
- CSKT Climate
- CSKT Climate Change Adaptation Plan
- In Montana, a Tribally Led Effort to Restore the Whitebark Pine
- The Blackfeet Climate Change Adaptation Plan
- Stewardship and Resilience — Preserving the Blackfeet Nation's Land and Culture
- Our Lands (Blackfeet Nation Water Compact)
- Protecting Beaver and Restoring Wetlands — The Ksik Stakii Project
- Sustaining the Land — Tribal Land Management at Fort Belknap
- Montana's Species of Interest
- Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources (technical info for nurseries)
- Pollinator Planting Guides
- An introduction to using native plants in restoration projects
- Promoting Healthy Riverscapes for All
- SageSTEP — Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project
- Building Capacity for Collaborative Conservation
- Community-Based Approach to Conservation for the 21st century
- Northern Rockies Fire Science Network
- National Interagency Fire Center
- IPCC WGI Interactive Atlas
- US Drought Monitor (Montana)
- EDDMaps Invasive Species Mapping and Reporting
- Art of Range Podcast
- Upper Missouri Breaks Climate report
- O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West Trainings
- How to construct a bike-powered seed pelletizer
- SER Standards Tools
- Practitioner tools for addressing knowing-doing gaps in seed-based restoration
- SER Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) Program
- Climate-Adapted Seed Tool
- Ecoregional Revegetation Application (ERA)
- Grass Identification Basics
- Rangeland Apps
- Low-tech Devices for Collecting, Processing and Planting Seeds
- Find suitable seeds/plants and vendors (CRP Tool)
- International Standards for Ecological Restoration — The Recovery Wheel
- USGS Stream Flow Mapping Tool
- Native Land Information System (NLIS)
- Boredom Busters (Red Butte Garden)
- Native Plants Activity Book (BLM Junior Ranger)
- Montana Natural History Center kids' programs
- Native Plant Activities for Kids (CNPS)
- Books Especially for Young People
- Seed Survivor Games
- Invasive Species Council of BC Games and Activities
- EcoKids site
- Ecology Games (Science Trek)
- Plum Landing Games (PBS Kids)
- CFWEP Watershed Science Virtual Curriculum
- Seed ball strategies for gardening and restoration in arid landscapes
- How to Make Seed Balls
- Invasive Species Handbook
- Traditional Uses of Native Plants
- Native Plant Restoration Project — A 7th Grade Pilot Program
- Get a Grip on Biodiversity
- Non-native Invasive Species Learning Kit
- Teacher Resources (USFS Celebrating Wildflowers)
- Environmental Education Group Games and Activities