The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Eastern Sanders County Conservation District, and the Green Mountain Conservation District will host a Local Working Group meeting to gather input from local stakeholders on how NRCS can most effectively deliver conservation assistance in Sanders County. The meeting will be held on February 12, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the Limberlost Brewing Company in Thompson Falls.

Every year, local working groups allow farmers, ranchers, conservation partners and other members of the community to discuss the natural resource needs for the county and identify local priorities. Based on that feedback, NRCS prepares and updates long range plans and considers input from local working groups statewide. 

Typically convened by local conservation districts with NRCS support, the local working group responsibilities include:

• Identifying the biggest conservation needs within the county.
• Prioritizing those conservation needs that can be addressed by NRCS programs.
• Assisting NRCS with public outreach and information efforts.

The local working group is seeking input from the local community with agricultural interests and an understanding of existing natural resource issues. The working group invites agricultural producers with crops and livestock, owners of nonindustrial private forest land, community agriculture, representatives of agricultural and environmental organizations, Tribal members and leadership, and representatives of other governmental agencies carrying out agricultural and natural resource conservation programs and activities to attend the local working group meeting. 

Get more information about Local Working Groups in Montana.