=The MALT Farm Bill Team and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will hold a partnership meeting on Thursday, April 12, in Bozeman. MALT, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and landowners team up with the NRCS on projects through the Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) Program, and the NRCS, Ducks Unlimited and landowners team up on the Wetlands Reserve Easement (WRE) Program. The meeting will start at 10:00 AM at the USDA Rural Development conference room located at 2229 Boot Hill Court in Bozeman. ALE Program Coordinator Alan Davis distributed a meeting agenda in an April 5 email. Video teleconference facilities are available in Missoula and Kalispell. The ALE Program has been in transition since the departure of Lisa McCauley and Lisa Coverdale in October 2017, and the NRCS is dedicating new resources and personnel to the Montana program to help close pending projects. The transition has been challenging, however, and the April 12 meeting will give land trusts and the NRCS an opportunity to discuss issues and options for progress.