Wildlife Conservation Through Sustainable Ranching
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North America's Last, Great Grasslands
THE U.S. IS HOME TO TWO OF THE MOST INTACT GRASSLANDS IN THE WORLD
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From the Northern Mixed Grass Prairie to the Western Gulf Coast Grasslands, North America has some incredible grassland ecoregions. In fact, two of the most intact grasslands in the world are located in the U.S. - the Nebraska Sandhills and the Wyoming Central Basin Shrub Steppe.
Working Lands for Wildlife's frameworks for conservation action in the Great Plains and sagebrush biomes are helping landowners across the West implement voluntary conservation practices that benefit grasslands, people, and wildlife. Our conservation approach defends grass and shrubland cores and helps ensure they continue to provide all the ecosystem services on which we depend.
This engaging post is full of information and facts about ALL of North America's grassland ecoregions. Thanks to experts from across the country who helped, the post includes fascinating details and compelling images that celebrate America's last, great grasslands.
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Invasive Annual Grasses Threaten Mule Deer Habitat
WHEN INVASIVE GRASSES REACH 20%, MULE DEER AVOID HABITAT
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A new paper from WLFW-affiliated researchers at the University of Wyoming details how mule deer habitat in the Cowboy State is threatened by invasive annual grasses (IAG), like cheatgrass. According the research, mule deer begin avoiding habitat when IAGs reach 10-14% cover and strongly avoid habitat at 20% cover.
Without targeted treatments in priority habitats, the authors predict that more than half the study area would experience significant declines in mule deer habitat. But with targeted treatments and cross-boundary management, the authors suggest many of these declines could be avoided.
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| WyoFile: Mule Deer Could Lose Habitat
CHEATGRASS THREATENS HALF OF MULE DEER HABITAT IN NORTHEAST WYOMING
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A recent WyoFile article focused on the latest WLFW-affiliated research about mule deer and invasive annual grasses.
In addition to covering the research, the author highlights a new herbicide called Rejuvra that practitioners are using to fight back against cheatgrass and other invasive annuals.
The researchers, all from the University of Wyoming, modeled future scenarios where invasive grasses were treated and where they weren't. According to the models, mule deer habitat declines aren't inevitable. By focusing conservation on where core sagebrush areas and priority mule deer habitat converge, mule deer will continue to be abundant in the northeast part of the state.
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What the Heck is a Kīpuka?
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AND WHY DO THEY MATTER FOR SAGEBRUSH CONSERVATION?
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WLFW's latest Working Lands Snapshot focuses on a unique geologic feature called a a kīpuka. While most kīpuka are found in the volcanically formed Hawaiian Islands, around 500 exist in Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Idaho's kīpuka (fun fact: kīpuka is both singular and plural) are resplendent with mature sagebrush, perennial grasses, and colorful wildflowers.
The kīpuka have also protected sagebrush-steppe flora from disturbances that have degraded many other parts of the biome over the past two centuries. They show us what sagebrush plant communities look like without being disturbed by fire, livestock grazing, or human development.
And this makes them helpful to folks like Joe Smith, a WLFW-affiliated researcher at the University of Montana, who is studying Idaho's kīpuka to better understand how invasive annual grasses are spread. Joe's research isn't yet published, but we'll share it when it's ready.
In the meantime, get to know more about this fascinating geologic formation and why they're important for sagebrush conservation.
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USDA Accepts Nearly 1.8 Million Acres in Conservation Reserve Program
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2025 ENROLLMENT MAXES OUT LONG-STANDING CONSERVATION PROGRAM
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Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. Originally intended to primarily control soil erosion and potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out of production, the program has evolved over the years, providing many conservation and economic benefits.
According to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), the USDA accepted 1.78 million acres into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through 2025 General, Continuous, Grassland, and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program enrollments. FSA received offers on more than 2.6 million acres, but because the program’s total acreage is capped at 27 million acres for fiscal year 2025, only 1.78 milion acres were accepted.
Nationwide, about 25.8 million acres are currently enrolled in CRP, the agency’s flagship conservation program through which landowners, farmers and ranchers voluntarily convert marginal or unproductive cropland into vegetative cover that improves water quality, prevents erosion, restores wildlife habitat and in the case of Grassland CRP, enables participants to conserve grasslands while also continuing most grazing and haying practices.
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The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recently released Part 2 of its Sagebrush Conservation Strategy. The volume describes a strategic approach to sagebrush conservation and strategies to address individual threats to sagebrush, using the Sagebrush Conservation Design (SCD; Doherty, et.al., 2022) and its ecological integrity metric to inform a “Defend the Core, Grow the Core” prioritization framework.
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The Pioneers-to-Craters landscape in Idaho has long been the focus of conservation efforts. This mosaic of private and public lands supports ranching, wildlife, and recreation. For decades, the USDA-NRCS has worked with partners to help protect private ranching lands through conservation easements, creating a model for public-private conservation in sagebrush country. This new easement, funded in part by the NRCS and in partnership with The Nature Conservancy adds more than 5,600 acres of high-quality sagebrush habitat to this incredible region.
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This interesting story from the Western Landowners Alliance's On Land Magazine shares how one ranching family in Idaho was able to use virtual fencing after a wildfire to better manage grazing on their allotment. With virtual fencing, they were able to return cattle to some areas of the burn the year after the fire - much sooner than is typical. Virtual fencing holds a lot of promise for improved grazing management and this story highlights its potential.
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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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