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“Gradually all groups have come to realize that to be successful we need to work together, despite any differences we may have, we are interdependent in protecting what each of us values most,” says Kim Delfino, California program director, Defenders of Wildlife.
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| Photo courtsey of the California rangeland conservation coalition |
Location: California’s Central Valley, surrounding foothills and interior Coast Ranges. For a map of the area, click here.
Objective: Partners are working to preserve private working landscapes, support the long-term viability of the ranching industry and to protect and enhance California's rangelands for protected and common species.
Participants: There are over seventy-five different ranching industry groups; conservation organizations; and local, state and federal government agencies involved in the partnership. The Coalition continues to gain new supporters and partners.
History: A ranch in the San Francisco Bay Area was the backdrop for a meeting between environmentalists, ranchers, and resource professionals from federal and state agencies. From this meeting of former foes in the summer of 2005, participants drafted a resolution documenting common ground for the conservation of the rangeland encircling the Central Valley, including the Sierra foothills and interior Coast Ranges. The California Rangeland Resolution (Resolution) recognizes that these rangelands and the diversity of species they support is largely due to grazing and other land stewardship practices of the ranchers that own and manage them.
The resolution is signed by over 75 agricultural organizations, environmental interest groups, as well as state and federal agencies. Together these signatories form the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition. The signatories have pledged to work together to preserve and enhance California’s rangeland for species of special concern, while supporting the long-term viability of the ranching industry. Partners either conceptually support the work of the coalition or are actively engaged in working with other partners to fulfill the underlying principles of the coalition stated in the Resolution.
Partners have gathered the past three January’s for an annual summit. The Summit is an opportunity to build trust, hear from researchers about the ecological benefits of grazing and define the Rangeland Coalition’s action plan for the year. The action plan lays the foundation for coalition members to work together to acquire additional federal funding for conservation programs, coordinate permitting processes, garner support for cooperative conservation projects, fill research gaps, and provide landowner assurances and incentives for ecosystem services.
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Coalition Partners at the Department of the Interior
Photo courtsey of the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition
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The value of grazing and other land stewardship practices of California’s ranchers is being increasingly acknowledged as not only a preferred land use but also as an essential resource management tool. Recent published research studies on rangelands throughout California have documented the positive impact of grazing on habitat of several species of special concern.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) corroborated their commitment to the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition by funding a Rangeland Director position to advance the goals of the Coalition. Tracy Schohr serves as the coalition staff and works to preserve California’s private rangelands by coordinating the efforts of this unique partnership.
Accomplishments: The California Rangeland Conservation Coalition hosted their third annual summit in Sacramento in January 2008. Annually, partners travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with agency leadership and members of Congress, discussing the Coalition, advocating the priorities of the partnership and emphasizing the importance of preserving working ranches. The California Rangeland Conservation Coalition has been actively engaged in the development of the 2007 Farm Bill, specifically advocating the importance of the Grasslands Reserve Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The partnership has been communicating the purpose and goals of partnership through the official Coalition Website www.carangeland.org, sending e-mail updates, newsletters, and have made presentations to thousands of individuals at over 25 different venues.
Challenges/constraints: The primary challenge for the partnership is the limited financial resources available to enhance and perpetually preserve working ranches. There is a high demand for ranchers who voluntarily want to place conservation easements on their property and limited funding to preserve these open spaces that are under threat of conversion. The partnership is also has a large task at hand educating partners, agency staff and the millions of California residents on the benefits of maintaining privately owned working ranches for economical, environmental, and aesthetic benefits.
For more information see www.carangeland.org
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