About the MoNGC
About the Collaborative
The Missouri Native Grasslands Collaborative (MoNGC) is a partnership of diverse organizations, agencies, and individuals dedicated to the protection and expansion of Missouri’s native grassland heritage.
Born of the collective input from the 2024 Missouri Native Grasslands Summit, our network bridges the gap between public conservation and private land ownership. We focus on a landscape-level approach that preserves rare remnant prairies while promoting the integration of native forages into active agricultural operations. By supporting the "grazing with natives" initiative, we aim to demonstrate that healthy ecosystems and healthy rural economies can thrive side by side.
Our mission is to advance four key pillars of conservation: stewardship, research, training, and outreach. Through these efforts, we provide Missouri landowners and conservation professionals with the technical expertise and financial resources needed to restore biodiversity, improve soil health, and secure a resilient future for our state’s wildlife.
Whether through prescribed fire training, invasive species management, or sustainable grazing schools, the Collaborative is committed to ensuring that Missouri’s iconic grasslands remain a vibrant, productive part of our natural and cultural legacy for generations to come.
Bill White | MoNGC Coordinator
Bill coordinates the activities of the Missouri Native Grasslands Collaborative (MoNGC). He works closely with the MoNGC and its Steering Committee to implement strategies for improving grassland conservation across the state and to promote the importance of native grasslands to all Missourians.
Bill has a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Nebraska and spent several years in Nebraska managing prairies and native grasslands on public land. He retired from the Missouri Department of Conservation with almost 35 years of experience in the Department’s private land efforts.
Bill enjoys working on the family farm, gardening, hunting bobwhite quail, and spending time outdoors with his 10 grandchildren.
MoNGC Steering Committee
Kenneth Ball
Representing Grazing Lands
Kenneth is currently Chair of the Grazing Lands Action Team for the MoNGC (Missouri Native Grasslands Collaborative). He is the Grazing Coordinator Supervisor for the state for the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.
His background as a certified conservation planner for the state of Missouri for NRCS/SWCD and a Menor for all 114 Counties in Missouri extends 14 years of helping Missouri landowners with grazing, forage quality and implementation (including NWSG), cover crop rotation management, Fence and Water design and layout, and now have evolved into the regenerative agriculture area to further help producers in Missouri continue to improve soil health, and provide the best products available to Missouri’s markets across the state!!
Kenneth is glad to be a part of moving Missouri forward in collaboration with great partners in this great state!!
Megan Buchanan
Representing Prairie Remnants
Megan is honored to serve as the Prairie representative on the Missouri Native Grasslands Collaborative Steering Committee. Megan has 15+ years of experience working in landscape conservation across academic, public, non-profit, and private sectors.
In her Regional Director role at New Leaf Climate, Megan is working to drive more sustainable financing options to the people who steward Missouri's nature.
Prior to joining New Leaf, Megan worked at the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Nature Conservancy, focusing on science and planning to support the long-term stewardship and protection of Missouri's terrestrial natural communities, including remnant and restored native prairies.
Jef Hodges
Representing Recreational Land
Jef owns Double J Ranch in Henry County, Missouri, where he has utilized a variety of FSA, NRCS, and MDC assistance programs to manage wildlife and biodiversity.
As part of that operation, he employs a patch-burn grazing system for summer grazing on native grass.
Throughout his career, he has promoted native vegetation for working lands for sustainable agriculture practices and wildlife benefit.
Brady Lichtenberg
Representing Ag Cropland
Brady graduated in 2016 from the University of Missouri, Columbia, with a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife sciences. Shortly after graduating, he started his career with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Throughout his 10 years there, he held several positions within the Conservation Department and gained experience managing and restoring prairies, grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, and glades on public land.
Since 2022, Brady has worked for the Missouri Soybean Association. He is currently the Associate Director of Conservation Agronomy, where he manages several conservation programs, implements conservation and regenerative agriculture demonstration areas on Missouri Soybeans’ Farm for Soy Innovation, directs conservation agriculture field days, and helps conduct a wide variety of agronomic research.
Brent Vandeloecht
Representing Communities
Brent is the Community and Private Land Field Chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). He began his career with the MDC in 2003 and is currently the Community and Private Land Field Chief out of MDC's headquarters in Jefferson City where he supervises Community Conservation Planners.
Brent serves as the statewide lead for the community conservation strategic initiative and the community conservation strategic initiative team. Brent coordinates with internal and external stakeholders to implement MDC’s strategic plan and promote community conservation initiatives and programs. He develops and coordinates community conservation communications, outreach and training for the Department.
Brent graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, MO with a bachelor’s degree in biology and has served MDC in various positions including Private Land Conservationist, Agricultural Liaison, District Supervisor, Unit supervisor before assuming his current role.
Amy Hamilton
Representing Native Seed Producers
Amy serves as a representative of the Missouri Native Seed Association and is honored to work alongside others through the Missouri Native Grassland Collaborative. She believes native plant diversity is foundational to healthy grasslands—supporting resilient plant communities, livestock well-being, and wildlife habitat. In the face of challenges such as herbicide-resistant weeds, invasive plants and fescue toxicosis, Amy sees native grasslands as a practical, time-tested solution that offers lasting benefits for soil, water, and biodiversity.
Amy Hamilton founded Hamilton Native Outpost along with her husband Rex in the Missouri Ozarks. Where they raise native grasses, wildflower seed, bison and cattle. Their livestock operation is built around low-input, forage-based grazing systems that aim to support both the land and the livestock that depend on it.
They have built their operation around soil health principles, aimed to heal the land, support healthy animals, and regenerate the soils, which delivers many ecosystem benefits.
Over the years, Amy has helped establish millions of native plant roots across the landscape, with many acres devoted specifically to native grass and wildflower seed production.
Frank Loncarich
Representing Public Lands
Frank Loncarich is a native of Neosho, MO where he currently resides and is stationed. Frank earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Missouri Southern State College and his Master of Science degree in Zoology at the University of Arkansas where he studied the effects of fire and grazing on greater prairie chickens for his thesis.
Frank is a 21-year veteran of MDC, spending the first 17 years of his career as a Wildlife Management Biologist in southwest Missouri. He has served as the Department’s Grassland Systems Manager since 2022.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Missouri NRCS supports MONGC's mission to support Missouri native grasslands and their vision of native grasslands serving an integral part of Missouri's social, ecological, and agricultural fabric.
MONGC's vision aligns with NRCS as we work to help people make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and habitat. Agriculture and wildlife both thrive together through landscape-scale conservation.
Together NRCS and MONGC can help landowners develop locally led conservation solutions.
Conservation Federation of Missouri
The Conservation Federation of Missouri is a leader in bringing organizations together to address conservation issues.
Our support of the MoNGC helps to bring a diverse group of partners together to move the needle ahead on retaining native prairie remnants and increasing the acres of planted natives.
Our partnerships will not only improve on conservation on working lands, recreational lands, but also in backyards while sustaining rural economies and healthy communities.
Missouri Department of Conservation
The Missouri Department of Conservation sponsors and is part of the Missouri Native Grassland Coalition(MNGC) because protecting native ecosystems is central to the agency's mission of conserving the state’s fish, forest, and wildlife resources. Missouri’s native grasslands are among the most threatened habitats in the state, yet they support an extraordinary diversity of plants, pollinators, and grassland‑dependent wildlife.
By partnering with the MNGC coalition, the department can collaborate with partners to restore and manage these landscapes at a scale no single organization could achieve alone. Grassland conservation helps maintain healthy watersheds, improves soil health, and supports sustainable agricultural practices that benefit local communities.
Finally, working within a coalition strengthens the department’s ability to safeguard these irreplaceable natural resources for future generations.