AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
READ MORE ABOUT:
Back in 1862, the Homestead Act allowed people to claim 160 acres to live on and farm for $10. By 1900, 400 million acres had been plowed. Formerly rich with plant and wildlife diversity, the wild American prairie was almost gone.
Conservationists today are working to bring that diversity back. Among them is the American Prairie Foundation, which is involved in the conservation effort and not only owns or leases tens of thousands of acres of land, but has also converted 45,000 acres of federal land that was previously used for livestock grazing into a wildlife refuge.
Aside from the wildlife populations affected, the disrupted or altered flow of waters, the depletion of aquifers, and the increased presence of chemical pollutants have all threatened the American prairie.
Unlikely partnerships
Collaborative efforts have also formed in some rather unexpected places. Usually at odds, ranchers and environmentalists have started working together to preserve and bring back the grasslands. The Nature Conservancy's Matador Ranch, for example, is a 60,000 acre plot where ranchers are allowed to graze their cattle for lower fees in exchange for meeting certain conservation measures, one of which is to support biological diversity on their own land. They also pledge not to plow prairie land during their lease, to participate in grassbanking management and weed control, and to help protect 2,000 acres of prairie dog colonies and more than 12 sage grouse leks. Recognition of environmental stewardship among ranchers has helped to foster this respectful relationship with the land.
The Matador is located in an area of Montana where some of the best remaining grasslands have supported ferret reintroduction efforts and are home to black-tailed prairie dogs. Whereas ranching has typically taken a toll on the health of prairie land and on wildlife populations&mash;and most conventional animal agriculture today still does—collaborative efforts such as the one spearheaded at the Matador have allowed for harmonious living between environmentalists, ranchers, their livestock, and prairie-dwelling threatened or endangered species.
To learn more about the American prairie and efforts to save it, don't miss the Focus Earth Episode: Man Vs. Nature.
Related Posts:
States Get Ranked for Their Prairie Dog Support
Prairie Dogs Are a Keystone Species
-
- {}
