The Gila County Board of Supervisors approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Tonto Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD) at its April 20 meeting. The IGA with the NRCD makes it possible for the county to award a $30,000 economic development grant to the ongoing Reading the Range program. In 2000, a collaborative range-monitoring program, Reading the Range, was established with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Gila County, Gila County Cattle Growers Association, and the Tonto National Forest with the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Renewable Resources Extension Act grant program. Reading the Range was originally funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but has grown and is now funded from a variety of contributors with 45% being federal funding sources, 5% being state and local government funding sources, and 49% from private funding sources. Collaborators include ranchers, U.S. Forest Service, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Tonto Natural Resources Conservation District.