Defenders of Wildlife Blog

An unlikely duo? Ranchers and conservationists team up to protect open spaces and wildlife in California.

IN THE FIELD: The California Rangeland Conservation Coalition, sponsored in part by Defenders, is hosting its sixth annual summit, “Beyond Conventional Ranching,” today and tomorrow at the Double Tree Hotel in Modesto, California.

The summit includes a field trip to several ranches that have implemented conservation practices, providing an opportunity to see firsthand how conserving private rangelands leads to environmental benefits.

This year, we will take a close look at the role that managed grazing and other conservation practices play in improving watersheds and providing wildlife habit. We will also explore how we can do a better job providing incentives to ranchers for their contributions to conservation.

Protecting Rangeland and Saving Wildlife

Despite decades of fragmentation and land conversion across the state, California rangelands still have amazing wealth of biological diversity. For example, rangelands provide critical wintering habitat for raptors such as the northern harrier and the peregrine falcon. Threatened and endangered wildlife, such as the California tiger salamander, the California red-legged frog, the San Joaquin kit fox and the California ground squirrel, also benefit from rangeland conservation.

Research has shown that several wildlife species, including the Bay checkerspot butterfly and unique habitats such as vernal pools, depend on livestock grazing, which mimics the natural role once played by native grazers (now mostly absent) that keeps invasive vegetation at bay.

Rangelands provide critical wintering habitat for raptors such as the northern harrier and the peregrine falcon. Threatened and endangered wildlife, such as the California tiger salamander, the California red-legged frog, the San Joaquin kit fox and the California ground squirrel, also benefit from rangeland conservation.

This year, we will unveil new research that explores how grazing can be used to create and improve habitat for other amphibian species and the endangered Lange’s metalmark butterfly – drawing special attention to collaboration between the coalition and researchers.

Well-managed cattle grazing fills a vital role in some ecosystems, a duty once beloning to native grazers that are now mostly gone.

Defenders has also been working with the coalition on developing markets and incentives for ecosystem services, or the environmental benefits of keeping rangelands as open space. Aside from providing habitat for imperiled wildlife, for example, rangelands help in the fight against climate change by capturing carbon. Well-managed rangelands also help to maintain clean water supplies and stave off problems like erosion.

Get Involved

Every year the summit brings together conservationists, researchers, government agencies, land trusts and ranchers to celebrate the success of this broad partnership spearheaded by the Cattlemen’s Association and Defenders of Wildlife. Over the years, it has also proven to be a great venue to discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for rangeland conservation in California.

The event is open to ranchers and members of the public. Register for the summit, or visit www.carangeland.org for more information.

Not sure how? Tracy Schohr, Rangeland Conservation director with the California Cattlemen’s Association, can answer your questions. You can reach her the old-fashioned way at (916) 444-0845.