Working Lands
What in the World is Conservation Ranching?
By Leslie Nemo
Your guide to Audubon's program to make cattle ranching prairie- and bird-friendly
A male Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: Joel Sartore
Working lands represent one of the best hopes for conservation. These parcels of forests, ranches, and farms add up to roughly a billion acres—or about half the land in the entire Lower 48 states. Audubon collaborates with landowners, land managers, government agencies, and private industry across the hemisphere to increase the quality of habitat on privately managed lands to benefit 20 flagship bird species. Audubon also helps landowners and land managers apply bird-friendly practices on their lands and develop market-based solutions to build economic incentives that have the potential to engage many more landowners. And Audubon works on federal policies that substantially influence the management of land to advance large-scale solutions that benefit both landowners and the environment.
The Farm Bill is an important vehicle for conservation on America's working lands. Click here to read more about Audubon's position on the 2018 Farm Bill. In it, we discuss Audubon's conservation priorities and highlight conservation programs that are supported by the Farm Bill.
We will focus on four landscapes dominated by private lands and where birds and habitat are most threatened: California’s Central Valley; the sagebrush ecosystem of the interior West; North American grasslands, including the Chihuahuan Desert; and eastern forests. Audubon will help landowners and land managers apply bird-friendly practices, and drive market-based solutions that influence ecosystem health at scale.
Audubon will:
One Bird, 11 States, 165 Million Acres—How Audubon Helped Protect the Sagebrush’s Most Iconic Resident.
Audubon Alaska is pursuing permanent wilderness designation for the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Creating a network of protected private and public lands
Full-lifecycle conservation for seven priority species along the Atlantic Flyway
Developing market-based management of dwindling prairie habitat that benefits birds and ranchers alike
Balancing prairie-bird protection with our nation’s need for energy
California’s Central Valley is one of this country’s most important food-producing areas, and a critical habitat for many birds
Your guide to Audubon's program to make cattle ranching prairie- and bird-friendly
Learn more about what conservation ranching is, and why it can be good for birds and the environment
Last week, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) released its State of the Birds 2017 report, documenting the many benefits of th
The new leadership at our federal departments and agencies will play a significant role in key decisions impacting Audubon’s conservati
Protections for struggling bird will go into effect while Commission considers full listing.
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.
Membership benefits include one year of Audubon magazine and the latest on birds and their habitats. Your support helps secure a future for birds at risk.
Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives.