Aaron has spent the last 10 years working with agricultural producers in Montana on conservation projects ranging from habitat restoration and improvement to infrastructure development. He advocates for community-led, rancher-centric conservation strategies, and specializes in conservation finance development and project implementation. He spent several years leading Pheasants Forever’s field program in Montana, and after starting with World Wildlife Fund in 2021 helped launch the Ranch Systems and Viability Planning network (RSVP), which as of late 2024 has 110 ranches and over 1 million acres of managed grazing land enrolled.
Within the Sustainable Ranching Initiative, Aaron supports individual livestock producers in Montana and the across the Great Plains by developing financial assistance mechanisms that incentivize sustainable land management and support ranch infrastructure development. He has also developed and implemented dozens of individual grassland and stream restoration projects, and developed standards for grassland project success both internally and with partner organizations. Aaron has also spent several years working closely with several partner organizations in the Great Plains that are focused on ranch community viability, typically locally-led non-profits, by providing support for strategic planning, fundraising, program development, and capacity.
Aaron grew up in South Dakota, enjoying the grasslands and big waters of the Missouri, before earning degrees in Biology and Ecology from South Dakota State and Eastern Washington University. He has lived with his wife Sonja in Montana since 2013, where they spend probably too much time in front of computers but a lot of spare time trying to find quiet campsites and long trails.
