Jeremy Maestas

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Good for the Bird, Good for the Herd

Building resilience for wildlife and ranching in the sagebrush sea

Across the West, a new paradigm for conserving at-risk species is taking root as local communities work toward a shared vision of building resilience for wildlife and working lands. Under the banner of the NRCS-led Sage Grouse Initiative, ranchers and partners are voluntarily implementing practices to protect and restore sagebrush rangelands and reduce the need for species regulation. One such example of this collaboration comes from the Gunnison Basin, Colorado, where a broad public-private partnership is applying simple restoration techniques pioneered by Bill Zeedyk to restore wet meadows and enhance resilience to drought. New science shows restored areas are 24% more productive and stay greener longer, boosting green groceries for wildlife and cattle. This panel with Nathan Seward will highlight successes from Gunnison and discuss transferability of this innovative effort to other working lands.