In the western U.S., millions of acres of perennial grasslands, shrublands, and forests are held in the public domain and managed by state and federal agencies for multiple land uses. Although riparian meadows account for a small percentage of this landscape, their ecological and conservation values are substantial. These ecosystems provide a suite of benefits—including clean water, flood attenuation, nutrient sequestration, wildlife habitat, and livestock grazing.
Located across 4.5 million acres on the central California-Nevada border, the Bi-State sage grouse is distinctly different from other greater sage grouse populations found across the western United States. The bird was once proposed for listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act – citing declines due to livestock grazing, invasive species, altered fire regimes and habitat loss, among other factors.
The goal of the 4th Rustici Rangeland Science Symposium is to engage ranchers, land managers, researchers, and policymakers in co-developing actionable science, policy, and management to sustain rangelands. The symposium will focus on partnerships surrounding a variety of topics, including: sustaining water resources; coping with drought; habitat conservation; and enhancing ranch profitability.
The goal of the 4th Rustici Rangeland Science Symposium is to engage ranchers, land managers, researchers, and policymakers in co-developing actionable science, policy, and management to sustain rangelands. The symposium will focus on partnerships surrounding a variety of topics, including: sustaining water resources; coping with drought; habitat conservation; and enhancing ranch profitability.
Managing Livestock Grazing on Watersheds Supplying Drinking Water Tim Koopmann, Water Resource Specialist and Manager Emeritus, San Francisco PUC
Ken Tate, Professor and CE Specialist in Rangeland Watershed Sciences, UC Davis
About 80% of California’s surface water supply is either derived from, or stored on grazed rangeland watersheds.
California’s annual rangelands include open grasslands and woodlands dominated by an understory of herbaceous annual plants in the state’s valleys and low elevation mountains and foothills. These largely privately owned lands span 10 million acres and produce nearly 70% of the state’s livestock forage base. Therefore, annual rangelands provide a critical economic foundation for California’s rangeland livestock production1—annual gross value of cattle and sheep production exceeds $3 billion.
Grazinglands support the livelihoods of millions of people around the world. These working landscapes include livestock-grazed rangelands and pasturelands and occupy an estimated one-quarter to two-fifths of the world’s land surface—making them the largest and most biologically and physically diverse land resources in the world.
Save the Date!
You are invited to participate in the 4th Rustici Rangeland Science Symposium scheduled for March 23-24, 2017 at the UC Davis campus. The goal of this event is to engage ranchers, land managers, researchers, and policymakers in co-developing actionable science to sustain grazinglands. The symposium will address multiple challenges across grazinglands, including sustaining water resources, coping with drought, habitat conservation, and enhancing livestock production and profitability.
Help wanted: participation in herbicide-resistant weeds workshop
Requesting growers and ag industry members to contribute to the national conversation on herbicide-resistant weeds As part of a national effort on developing research and regulatory priorities related to the challenging problems of herbicide-resistant weeds, the Weed Science Society of America is sponsoring a series of half-day regional workshops to discuss the issues, potential solutions, and technical and economic barriers related to resistant weeds.
This week’s blog post welcomes Dr. Tina Saitone, new UC Cooperative Extension Specialist in Livestock and Rangeland Economics. My name is Tina Saitone, and on June 1 of this year I began an appointment as a Cooperative Extension Specialist focusing on livestock and rangeland economics.
This blog post was adapted from the UCCE Tehama – Livestock and Rangeland News – April 2016* The series of storms this spring across Northern California was welcome on rangelands during the continuing drought. Although these storms helped rangeland managers, the rains made for some risky decisions on timing hay cuttings – resulting in a lot of rained-on hay. As every rancher knows, this can lead to a lot of hay on the market with various levels of mold. Although moldy hay can be inexpensive to buy, it may result in expenses later.
This is the third in a series of blog posts to highlight individuals within the UC Cooperative Extension (CE) working to bring science-based solutions to challenges facing ranchers and rangeland stakeholders.
This is the second in a series of blog posts to highlight individuals within the UC Cooperative Extension (CE) working to bring science-based solutions to challenges facing rangeland stakeholders.
