a unique prairie ecosystem and at the same time# their work is helping their own rural economies Stan Parker of Montana PBS takes us to one of# the planet's last remaining intact grasslands.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): In central Montana,## family ranchers are stepping BILL MILTON, Rancher: This is one of the last# really great intact grasslands left in the world.

ALEXIS BONOGOFSKY, Sustainable Ranching# Initiative: Grasslands provide habitat for## hundreds of wildlife species that need# this p STAN PARKER (voice-over): For ranchers like the# Nolans, grassland conservation is about survival.

LAURA NOLAN, Rancher: What it comes down to# is if we're not taking good care of the land,## we're not going to be here anymore.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): On a ho Jack and Anna, are tearing out# some old fences.

They'll replace## them with a different type that allows# migrating animals to pass through safely.

LAURA NOLAN: So the bottom wire is# high enough for antelope to go under,## and then the top wire is low enough for# the deer and the elk to go over.

And then## there's a space between the first and second# wires that the sage grouse can go through.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): The federal# government is helping pay for this## project.

It's one example of a conserva years.

Major environmental nonprofits and# government agencies are expanding financial## incentives to help family ranchers# protect this vast grassland ecosystem.

With a population under 200, the small town of# Winnett is playing an outsized role in this work,## thanks in large part to a local group# called ACES, or agricultural community## enhancement and sustainability.

Laura# Nolan helped start the organization.

LAURA NOLAN: In a nutshell, Aces is a group# of people who care about Winnett specifically.## But central Montana more broadly and# rural communities even more broadly.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): The group# makes conservation projects like this## stream restoration possible by linking# local ranchers with fu volunteer labor.

And the work comes with some# unexpected alliances, says rancher Bill Milton.

BILL MILTON: 20, 30 years ago, a group like# the Nature Conservancy or World Wildlife Fund## or Audubon, these are traditionally# perceived by ranchers as the enemy.

LAURA NOLAN: Those were organizations## definitely that we fea STAN PARKER (voice-over):# Today, their goals are aligned.

BILL MILTON: Over time the sort of mainstream# en ground that supports this wildlife is privately# owned.

So if you're in a conflict with a person## who's providing most of the habitat for what you# think is important, you either got to beat them,## put them out of business, turn it all into a# park, or you have to form an alliance with them.

LAURA NOLAN: We've met a lot of traditional and## non-traditional partners in# this adventure that we're on.

ALEXIS BONOGOFSKY: I think people# sometimes are surprised that World## Wildlife Fund has a program# that works with ranchers STAN PARKER (voice-over): Alexis# Bonogofsky raises sheep near billings and she manages the Sustainable Ranching# Initiative for World Wildlif ALEXIS BONOGOFSKY: If a rancher wants# to change their grazing practices to,## for example, give more rest to a# certain area on their ranch every year,## then World Wildlife Fund is able to help them# with infrastructure costs to make that possible.

LAURA NOLAN: We're all kind of meeting in the# middle here because we do have these common## goals.

And part of that, too, is we have to not# always be so defensive as ranchers and landowners,## too.

And we can improve what we're doing.# And we should improve where we can.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): These# ranchers and wildlife organizations## are also working together to help the# AL EXIS BONOGOFSKY: We know that# supporting these communities and## the work that they're doing is the only# way we will Plains ecosystem.

The conservation work# isn't separate from the community work.

BILL MILTON: And it demonstrates# to people who are still, I think,## in the ranch community a little bit of scant.# Like, well, I don't trust these guys.

In the end,## they're really coming out to get us.

And I just# don't believe that anymore because the evidence## of people's actions are a lot more credible than# people's projections of what they think they are.

STAN PARKER (voice-over):# One of those team efforts,## restoring a historic building on Main turning it into an ice cream parlor, coffee# shop, ap BILL MILTON: We all know that rural America in# many places has been struggling, and I think we're## finding that don't wait for some white horse# to come galloping over the ridge to help you.## If you want to create something better, you're# going to have to take a role in creating that.

STAN PARKER (voice-over): For PBS News# Weekend, I'm Stan Parker in Winnett, Montana.