Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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| Sagebrush Songbirds See Population Boost When Conifers are Removed for Sage Grouse
READ THE SCIENCE, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RESEARCHERS, AND WATCH VIDEOS OF SAGEBRUSH SONGBIRDS TAKEN DURING THE FOUR-YEAR-LONG PROJECT
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From 2019-2022, researcher Elise Zarri and a crew of field technicians collected and analyzed abundance and demographic data for eight species of songbirds found in the sagebrush sea. Two of these were sagebrush obligates - the Brewer's Sparrow and the Sage Thrasher.
Zarri and her team looked at how the songbirds responded to conifer removal treatments designed and implemented to benefit sage grouse. They found that the sagebrush-obligate birds, along with the Vesper Sparrow and Green-tailed Towhee - two more generalist species - had higher abundance and reproductive success where conifers had been removed than where the trees remained.
The team also collected some captivating video footage of baby birds, birds fledging, and even some depredation events.
We've gathered all the research, videos, and more on one page. Check it out by clicking on the button below.
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Ask an Expert: Researchers Detail Conservation Outcomes for Songbirds
LEAD RESEARCHER ELISE ZARRI AND BLM BIOLOGIST KATIE BENZEL DISCUSS ZARRI'S SONGBIRD RESEARCH
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In wildlife conservation, science, and especially science collected locally, is critical to informing management decisions and understanding management impacts.
In this Ask an Expert, Elise Zarri and Katie Benzel talk through Zarri's four-year research project that examined how songbirds in southwest Montana responded to conifer management targeted at sage grouse.
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| Two-day Invasive Annual Grass Field Workshop - July 16-17 in Sheridan, WY
JOIN WLFW AND IMAGINE FOR THIS IN-PERSON FIELD WORKSHOP IN WYOMING THIS JULY
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This two-day field and classroom workshop is designed to take a more in depth look at how you can strategically plan for and manage invasive annual grasses (IAG). Participants will visit various sites including intact core areas and growth opportunity areas where we will discuss potential management approaches in each situation.
Participants will become familiar with different management practices and improve their capacity to determine which management tactics will best suite their needs in different situations.
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Remembering Mitch Faulkner
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THE WLFW TEAM JOINS THE GRASSLAND CONSERVATION COMMUNITY IN RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY OF A COMMITTED CONSERVATIONIST
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Grassland conservation lost one its stanchest and friendliest allies this past April when Mitch Faulkner passed after a battle with leukemia. Mitch is remembered as a conservation titan, a true leader within the Natural Resources Conservation Service and an incredibly effective member of the WLFW family.
In 2020, Mitch was recognized for his decades of contributions and received the NRCS's Rangeland Management Specialist of the Year Award. We were fortunate to sit down with Mitch for an Ask an Expert interview following the award.
Mitch's down-to-earth style and his focus on and commitment to partnerships are evident throughout the interview. When we congratulated him on the award, he immediately demurred, and instead credited "an incredible set of partners that have been working in this area for a decade or so."
Thanks to Mitch, acres upon acres of South Dakota's prairies are more resilient, more productive, and more valuable for people, wildlife, and the world at large.
Shortly after Mitch's passing, Buz Kloot, from "Growing Resistance Through Our Soils" published a wonderful remembrance of Mitch, including some video of Mitch he hadn't yet shared publicly.
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Flood-Irrigated Hay Benefits Watersheds from the Top Down
NEW RESEARCH FROM THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOINT VENTURE, THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA, AND OTHERS DETAILS THE ROLE FLOOD-IRRIGATED HAY PLAYS IN WESTERN RANGELANDS' ECOLOGY
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Flood-irrigating grass hay meadows is a practice that has long enabled ranchers in the snowmelt-driven systems of the western United States to produce forage for livestock and sustain their operations. But as water scarcity increases throughout this semi-arid region, conversion to irrigation practices like center-pivot or other sprinkler systems threatens these flood-irrigation systems —along with the habitat they support. A 2024 body of science from the Intermountain West Joint Venture, the University of Montana, and other key science partners shows the outsized ecological effects of flood-irrigated grass hay meadows.
These small parcels of land only account for 2.5 percent of the region’s irrigated footprint but provide the majority (58 percent) of temporary wetland habitat in the Intermountain West. Located predominantly in riparian floodplains, flood-irrigated grass hay agriculture mimics natural flooding cycles, providing ecosystem services that promote climate resilience and wildlife benefits. As a result, ranching in many parts of the West has become deeply intertwined with ecosystem function.
The team at the IWJV has put together a great set of resources related to this science, including a new Working Wetlands Explorer mapping application that shows where these valuable resources are located across the West.
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This video from the South Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition features the incredible bird migration that happens each spring. The Prairie Pothole Region of South Dakota serves as a crucial area for breeding waterfowl and shorebirds, including canada geese, killdeer, mallards, northern pintails, and snow geese. This gorgeous video showcases this incredible spectacle.
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This "Inflation Reduction in Action" story from Farmers.gov shares how fifth-generation rancher Tammy Jo Nine Stotts and her husband worked with the NRCS through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to convert some of the cropland on her family's ranch into productive grassland, helping power her growing grazing operation. “We like running cattle. Always have,” said Tammy Jo. “That’s what we do, and that’s what we plan to do. It’s in our blood.”
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The USDA strongly encourages eligible conservation partners to submit proposals for $10 million in available funds to research the Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) environmental benefits and outcomes. CRP is one of the world’s largest voluntary conservation programs with an established track record of preserving topsoil, sequestering carbon, reducing nitrogen runoff, and providing healthy wildlife habitat.
Funding this research with partners outside of USDA will enable USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) — the agency responsible for administering CRP — to best focus the program’s future functionality and goals based on the collective research results.
Proposals for funding consideration are due June 7, 2024. Learn more and apply.
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This interactive storymap from Audubon Rockies explores the "Golden Triangle" in Wyoming, one of the most intact and diverse parts of sagebrush country. If you haven't had the chance to explore this special landscape, make sure to check out this storymap.
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The Wildlife Society recently featured research from Jason Reinhardt, a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service and WLFW collaborator. His research focuses on how to balance pinyon jay management and sage grouse management in the West - pinyon jays need mixed-age pinyon-juniper forest while sage grouse need tree-free sagebrush rangelands. This story highlights a new "optimization model" he created to help managers balance pinyon jay management with sage grouse management.
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The South Dakota Grasslands Coalition produced this great video about using prescribed fire as a management tool for grasslands. The video focuses on using prescribed fire to manage cedar trees for the benefit of wildlife, livestock forage, and grasslands health.
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Conservation on leased lands can be complicated. This short article from the High Plains Journal provides tips and suggestions on how to initiate conservation planning for leased lands.
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USDA-NRCS Chief Terry Crosby celebrates American Wetlands Month and thanks NRCS customers who have enrolled nearly 3 million acres in NRCS wetland easement programs in this nice post.
Nicknamed “nature’s kidneys,” wetlands filter excess nutrients, contain floodwater, store carbon and provide valuable habitat. Just this past March, NRCS announced we will invest about $138 million of financial assistance from the Inflation Reduction Act in 138 new climate-smart conservation easements, including 100 Wetland Reserve Easements in 14 states, through which farmers and ranchers are conserving wetlands, grasslands, and prime farmlands.
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Working Lands for Wildlife is the 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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