Fences Without Wire: Big Data And Smart Collars Are Transforming Rangelands

VIRTUAL FENCING PAIRED WITH FREE SATELLITE DATA IS A HIGH-TECH WAY TO ADDRESS AGE-OLD GRAZING CHALLENGES

Kansas rancher Daniel Mushrush has tested virtual fencing on his family’s ranch in the Flint Hills for the past five years.

 

“It wasn’t very long before I was like, holy smokes, this is real. This is going to be something for us,” Mushrush says.

 

The Mushrushes’ cattle now wear GPS collars that cue the animals to stay in a designated area. Daniel and his brother can draw a boundary on a computer or a phone, and move cattle without having to physically rearrange fences. 

 

When paired with data from the Rangeland Analysis Platform, virtual fencing is even more helpful. The Mushrushes can monitor and manage animals’ whereabouts virtually from an app on their phone. The app also pulls up past forage production data for each pasture. 

 

Virtual fencing can boost agricultural operations and benefit wildlife because it:

• Saves time and labor for ranchers. It can be cheaper than building or replacing fences, and lets you move livestock without rearranging fencing.
• Gives grazing flexibility and improves soil and water resources. It's easier to rotate cattle between pastures or exclude them from sensitive landscapes. 
• Protects wildlife and their habitat. Landowners can remove old fences that cause bird collisions or impede migrating big game. Virtual fencing also improves landscape connectivity and lowers livestock predation risk, according to new research from WLFW.

“We have a variety of early adopters in Kansas who are recognizing the value of virtual fencing for managing their operations—not only from a herd health standpoint, but also from a grassland health standpoint,” says Dean Krehbiel, assistant state conservationist with Kansas NRCS.

New Research: Indaziflam Controls Invasive Grasses

New research from the USDA Agricultural Research Service highlights indaziflam’s effectiveness at controlling invasive annual grasses like cheatgrass.

 

The three-year study showed increased plant biodiversity, increased soil biocrust and bare ground, and longer efficacy compared to other pre-emergent herbicides.

 

Researchers note that targeting treatments in areas where perennial plants can rebound is key to successful restoration efforts.

 

WLFW's Invasion Severity Index is a free, online mapping application that helps people plan site-specific invasive annual grass treatments.

USDA Announces $1.8 Billion In 2026 Conservation Program Payments

The USDA recently announced that $1.8 billion in rental payments will be available to agricultural producers and private landowners through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Grassland CRP.  

 

CRP helps reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and increase wildlife habitat, contributing to the overall health of ecosystems. Grassland CRP is a working lands conservation program that enables participants to conserve grasslands while also continuing most grazing and haying practices.

 

This year, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) accepted offers on nearly 1 million new acres of Grassland CRP. 

Science To Solutions Seminar

November 12 @ 11:30-12:30 CT

Join us to hear updates from these top-notch grassland conservation experts about what's happening across the Great Plains:

• Dirac Twidwell: WLFW’s Great Plains Grasslands Science Advisor
• Kelsi Wehrman: Pheasant Forever’s Nebraska Senior State Coordinator  
• Tony Capizzo: Flint Hills Initiative Director

• Samantha Cady: University of Nebraska–Lincoln Researcher

 Topics covered include: 

• Rangeland wildfire and post-fire restoration
• Woody species encroachment, managed at scale across the Plains
• Spatial analyses and continent-wide modeling of grasslands as well as wildlife population responses

This seminar is part of WLFW's recently launched Science to Solutions: For Western Working Lands Seminar Series. The one-hour presentation is free and open to all. 

New Great Plains Grasslands Funding Opportunity From NFWF

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) recently announced their new Great Plains Grassland Fund, which is now accepting applications through January 27, 2027. According to NFWF, the Great Plains Grassland Fund will build on community-based, rancher-led efforts and invest in durable, flexible, and integrated land protection and management strategies designed to reduce the likelihood of grassland conversion of high conservation value landscapes. Learn more about this opportunity at the link in the title. 

Holding Water On The Land: A U.S. Forest Service Video From Arizona

In the arid West, the impact on water from conifer encroachment is a serious issue. This film highlights efforts in Arizona where the U.S. Forest Service is working to restore watersheds and grazing lands impacted by encroaching juniper trees. 

Building Fake Beaver Dams Helps Coho Salmon Survive In California

Here at WLFW, we're beaver believers! This story from California Creek helps explain why. When conservationists installed human-made beaver dam analogs, or BDAs, in the Smith River watershed, Coho salmon survival went from 8% to 60%. Plus, just a few years after BDAs were build, beavers returned to the creek, helping keep more cold, clear water in streams for fish and other wildlife. 

The Working Lands for Wildlife partnership supports the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service's premier approach for conserving America's working lands to benefit people, wildlife, and rural communities. In the West, WLFW is guided by two, action-based frameworks for conservation. The framework approach is designed to increase conservation and restoration of rangelands by addressing major threats to rangeland health and through the implementation of conservation measures that limit soil disturbance, support sustainable grazing management, promote the strategic use of prescribed fire, and support native grassland species. Together, the frameworks leverage the power of voluntary, win-win conservation solutions to benefit people and wildlife from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

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