By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Jen Mohler, executive director of the nonprofit Grow Wild, was recognized in late January with the Cooperative Weed Management Area of the Year by the Montana Weed Control Association in Missoula.
Formerly known as the Gallatin Invasive Species Alliance, Grow Wild’s mission is to conserve native species in the Upper Gallatin Watershed through education, habitat restoration, and collaborative land stewardship. That takes shape through volunteer opportunities, weed pulls and gardening events, children’s education programs, and Grow Wild’s traveling wildlife education trailer, with more “exciting irons in the fire” including partnerships and collective efforts, Mohler explained.
“Invasive species is actually a really uphill battle,” Mohler told EBS in a phone call. She explained that the 2023 rebrand to “Grow Wild” was intended to reframe beyond just the negative aspect of noxious weeds. “Our goal is to also understand what makes [an ecosystem] healthy.”
The cornerstone of Grow Wild’s work is helping landowners, with free site visits and land stewardship advice to any willing property owner in the area—dealing with invasive species are a legal responsibility for landowners, she explained.
She recalls spending her first couple years as a property owner in Belgrade working to set her land up for long-term success. Eventually, a nesting pair of red-tailed hawks moved in.
“If you plant it, they will come. If you create the foundation for a healthy ecosystem, and you know it takes work, it takes time, but then you start to see your labor pay off,” Mohler said. “And it’s just so heartening.”
The Montana Weed Control Association award came as a surprise for Mohler. She was nominated by the Galatin County Weed Board.
“It really is a tremendous honor to be recognized, because there’s so many people doing great work that just don’t get recognized,” she said, adding that nobody fights invasive species for the money or the accolades.
Dr. Jane Mangold, Montana State University professor and extension specialist, has been studying and teaching about invasive plants in Montana for 25 years, working with organizations like Grow Wild, private landowners, and state and federal agencies. As a member of the Gallatin County Weed Board, she supported Mohler’s nomination.
“Jen has a record of really effective education and outreach to the Big Sky community, and… the Gallatin River watershed community,” Mangold said. “… Grow Wild under Jen’s leadership has really shifted the focus from just getting rid of something we don’t want, like killing weeds, to actually shifting the focus on healthy aspects of the landscape and how we are called to be good stewards of the land so we can improve and conserve the landscapes we love and cherish.”
Mangold said Grow Wild’s educational and promotional materials are “the envy of all of us who work in this realm of noxious weed management” for their artistic flair, and said Mohler is a resource for people to better understand the environment that they’re living in and that they love so much.
“[Grow Wild] really has so much to share in terms of stewardship and conservation of the beauty that really has drawn all the people to the Big Sky area,” Mangold said.
She praised Grow Wild’s outside-the-box approach, specifically with the native demonstration garden at Crail Ranch and bighorn sheep habitat restoration project, to which Mangold contributes research.
“We love our bighorn sheep herd here in Big Sky, and they are iconic,” Mohler said. “Doing everything we can to improve their winter range is critical.”
Mohler explained that invasive species are a sign of an unhealthy ecosystem, affecting everything from water quantity and quality to wildlife habitat. Bighorn sheep are losing habitat and forage, in part due to an overgrowth of trees.
“We kind of forget that healthy wildlife habitat is a mixture of land types,” Mohler said. With more open space, bighorn sheep could find more forbs, grasses and shrubs.
Grow Wild is trying to work with the Forest Service, but logging projects are challenging in the area due to power lines, wildfire concerns, and the steep terrain right above roads and water.
“It’s a really difficult place to do anything to benefit bighorn besides controlling invasives, and seeing if we can really rejuvenate the native population of grasses and forbs,” she said.
Mohler is also excited about Alpenscapes, a partnership between Grow Wild, the Gallatin River Task Force, the Big Sky Fire Department and Big Sky SNO. In the past year, Mohler said the program directly boosted the number of Grow Wild’s site visits, especially for property owners who were initially concerned about wildfire but didn’t know about noxious weeds.
“That’s what I love the most. Is seeing people learn more, and doing more, and the results when they call me up,” Mohler said.
For local property owners wanting to learn more, Mohler encourages them to visit Grow Wild’s website. She enjoys watching her community partners become inspired.
“Once you see invasive species, you can’t unsee,” she said. “Once you see the impacts it has on our recreation, on our agriculture and all that, you can’t not act.”
