Conservation and Holistic Management LESSONS FROM THE FIELD Overview

Introductions

Learning objectives

Interactive format

Presentations

Smaller Group “Deep Dives” Rob Rutherford

ROBERT RUTHERFORD, PROFESSOR EMERITUS CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO AND ACCREDITED HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTOR Overview of Holistic Management

IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF ECONOMICS

4 Key Principles The living world functions as wholes

Relationships rather than parts

Environments are different

But nutrients must cycle to support all life

The Predator-Prey Relationship is Key

Plan the grazing as if the plants were important 80% 60% 50% 30%

Grazing Management = Soil Biota Management Animals

Plants

Soil Animal/ plant/soil

Rhizosphere

Soil microbiology ECONOMICS

Οικος Νέμομαι

Home Management Holistic Management is simply making the decisions to enhance one’s home Christy Fischer EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SANTA LUCIA CONSERVANCY MONTEREY COUNTY Santa Lucia Conservancy

Land Trust: • Established 1995 • 6 Staff • 10,000 acres in fee • ~8,500 acres easements • focus Annual Budget: • ~$1,000,000/yr The Preserve

Natural Setting: • Historic ranch • Highly diverse ecology • 50 plant communities • 18,000 acres protected

Human Setting: • Monterey County, CA • 300 estate homes • 18 hole golf course • <2,000 acres total Biodiversity Needs Assessment

Conservation Planning for 18,000 acres: • Mapped , species • Assessed health and trends • Identified threats and impacts • Developed conservation and monitoring strategies,

performance targets 3 Key Conservation Targets Values

Over 6,000 acres • ~2,000 acres native Challenges • Thatch build-up • Weeds • Brush encroachment Objectives • Sustain native stands • Improve native diversity • Support species recovery Considering Options

Pick a Critter… any Critter? Thoughtfully

Be mindful of your goals and values Thoughtfully

Pick a Critter… that fits-in ecologically, socially and financially. Setting Clear Goals Restoration Approach

• Do no harm • Look forward, not back • Manage for biodiversity • Restore natural processes • Test Conservation Grazing as a sustainable tool • Use robust science • Share what we learn • Don’t go broke Getting Started

To Fence or Not to Fence • Why mess with 18,000 acres of unfenced habitat?

Our Methods: • Portable electric fence • Portable troughs, tanks • Labor intensive • Higher risk for grazer • Preserves ‘wildness’ Protecting Predators

The health of the and native predators is closely intertwined: a fed lion is a dead lion. Early Investments Natural Processes

Different livestock, different jobs are fast, indiscriminate, and require close supervision Goats Natural Processes

Cattle tend to be slower, more methodical, easier to monitor.

Both can be managed to meet different ecological goals either alone or together (in sequence). Cattle Performance Monitoring

Extensive Baselines • Floristic Monitoring • Pond Surveys • Burrow Mapping Grassland bird research ‘Real-time’ grazing assessment Baselines Are Crucial

Species Richness Percent Cover Performance Against Goals Grasslands Management Goal: 5,200 acres by 2020

64.3 acres grazed 2,895.6 acres grazed 1.2% of goal 55.7% of goal Ecological Research and Monitoring: Grassland Response to Grazing 2015 Grazed/Ungrazed Change

Grassland Type Annual Grassland Perennial Grassland Moist Plot Code Number P2 P1 P5 P4 P6 F1 F4 B1 B2 B3 B4 M1 M2 M4 A1 M3 P3 M5 M6 F2 F5 Thatch depth Thatch cover Bare ground Herb height Rodent burrows Native richness * Annual richness * Native cover * Perennial cover Total cover

= metric improved with grazing = metric declined with grazing = no change

* Three important indicators on Plot M4 declined after grazing, which had occurred 2.4 weeks before the data was collected. This suggests there might be temporary short-term negative responses immediately after grazing, and responses may improve after several weeks of plant re-growth. Ecological Research and Monitoring: Thatch/Fuel Load Reduction 2015 Ecological Research and Monitoring: California Tiger Salamander

# of Ponds with Evidence of CTS Breeding Vegetation Management Efforts

5

4

3 Treated

2 # of Ponds #

# of Ponds # with CTS 1

0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2014 2015

Pond 2 Pond 3 Pond 4 Pond 10 Pond 11 Pond 13 Grazed Mowed (RSC) (RSC) (RSC) (Mesa) (Mesa) (Peñon)

Grassland management through grazing is anticipated to improve CTS breeding success Early Findings

• don’t work for us • Goats and cattle have different beneficial impacts • Habitat responds rapidly • Still have a lot to learn A Powerful Addition to the Toolbox Billy Freeman STEWARDSHIP ASSISTANT SIERRA FOOTHILL CONSERVANCY CENTRAL SIERRA Billy Freeman SIERRA FOOTHILL

The Sierra Foothill Conservancy was established in 1996 as a non profit, local land trust with the goal of protecting open spaces, clean air and water and promoting a conservation ethic that spans generations.

CONSERVANCY SFC currently owns 6,500 acres of grassland and holds 22 conservation easements within its area of interest. • 99 % of grasses in California are non-native, Mediterranean species • Grazing is critical to maintain biodiversity

• Removal with an RDM target • Grazing is a tool for process management SFC has worked with NRCS through their conservation planning process to define stakeholder objectives and resource concerns for our preserves

NRCS conducted surveys for focal bird species and vegetation, and used their 17 indicators of rangeland health format to identify resource concerns Grazing plans were drafted with input from all parties, featuring specific ecological objectives for each property Rancher-to-Rancher

SFC also worked with Kent Reeves and the Rancher-to- Rancher project to develop holistic planned grazing techniques Grazing Objectives- Vegetation

• Biodiversity • Patch management- Paddock Design • Increase abundance of native perennial bunchgrass and native forb species • Enhance riparian vegetation • Control invasives Grazing Objectives-Wildlife

• Promotion of wildlife species abundance • Grazing to create intermittent and spatial heterogeneity • Enhance habitat features for a variety of amphibian species Monitoring and

• RDM and peak standing crop • NRCS bird and vegetation surveys • Point Blue soil sampling data • NRCS prescribed grazing monitoring requirements • Rancher-to-Rancher transects • Monitoring information informs management Sierra Lands Beef, LLC grazes on SFC preserves for the purpose of maintaining biodiversity through ecosystem process management

Owned By Sierra Foothill Conservancy

SLB markets Grass Fed and finished Beef to local consumers and supports SFC’s land conservation program SLB Community Benefits • Supports local foods movement and provides a high quality, all natural product. • Purchases local cattle, providing an outlet for local ranchers • All proceeds go toward SFC land conservation projects. Wendy Millet

TOMKAT RANCH RANCH DIRECTOR PESCADERO, CA TomKat Ranch Mission: Provide healthy food on working lands in a way that sustains the planet and inspires others to action Learning Lab

Integrated Management Plan

TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation

Research Teach Learn Sponsor Connect Empower Millions of Years of Evolution

TODAY Predator

Predator

Grassland Evolution Herbivores Grasslands Planning and Management

Planning Recording Evaluating How We Manage – Science as Guide Use science to identify important areas for both forage and Grazing Plan to Maximize Benefits Track Pastures to Prioritize Actions Track Pastures to Evaluate Actions Monitor Decisions & Results

Work with Point Blue Conservation Science’s Rangeland Monitoring Network to: - Develop metrics - Understand how grazing practices interact with water, nutrients, carbon forage, energy, biodiversity - Foster rangeland science Meet Our Team New Teammates Remove Decadent Cover Remove Non-Natives & Weeds Increase Biomass Increase Fertility Increase Biodiversity Improve Water Quality & Quantity Improve Riparian Areas Sequester Carbon

• Photosynthesis is KEY! • Plants capture sunlight, water, carbon, to form carbohydrates • Carbohydrates feed soil microbes, aid plant nutrient exchanges • Microbes and soil fauna decompose roots/root products and produce Humus - long-lived stores of SOC (soil organic carbon) • Process stores carbon underground in plant and soil material - 30-40% directly into soil via plant roots The Climate Ranch

“As I see it, the only real way that large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere can start today is if we encourage plant photosynthesis and land-based carbon storage activities. In other words, we need to start growing more grass.” -Courtney White, The Carbon Ranch Encourage Perennial Grasses

Cox et al. August 2006. Bioscience. Vol. 56, No. 8 Planned Grazing Success Grasslands – Thinking at Scale

• One of largest in world (40% land) • Evolved with photosynthesis, herbivores, predators • How might herbivores help your grasslands/rangelands? Exciting Time for Innovation

New approaches to land stewardship New constellation of partners, landowners, innovators, entrepreneurs

• Moving beyond sustainability • Adopting regenerative practices • Marrying ecology, agriculture, food, community, and economy • Promoting best practices informed by nature Managing as Nature would as if everything matters Summary and Questions Drafting Easements for Conservation Grazing Key Concepts: • Articulate ecological goals as positives to be managed towards. • Provide flexibility for managing adaptively within certain agreed limitations. • Consider obtaining rights for the Land Trust to conduct conservation grazing if landowner elects not to graze. • Keep in mind that rigid ‘minimum standards’ such as RDM or maximum stocking rates can reduce the potential for achieving ecological goals with this tool. Approaches Option 1: Agriculture specific conservation easement

 Agriculture. All agricultural uses shall be conducted using stewardship and management methods that preserve the natural resources upon which agriculture is based. Long term management goals include preserving soil productivity, maintaining natural stream channels, promoting sustainable livestock grazing practices, and sustaining native vegetative cover. Conservation Easement Approaches Option 2: Special Resource Areas – define where grazing is restricted, permitted or managed.  Special Resource Areas. For example: “Portions of the Property are valuable habitat for {species}, which are depicted and identified as “Special Resource Areas” on Exhibit ___ attached hereto and made part of this Deed. • The property outside SRAs shall be managed according to the following standards… • The property inside SRAs shall be managed according to the following standards (or principles, adaptive management plan, etc.) Conservation Easement Approaches Option 3: Management Plan – supplemental document, referenced in the conservation easement, establishing goals and management practices for the property.

 The Property shall be operated and managed in accordance with a plan prepared by Grantor, provided to Grantee, and accepted with the mutual consent of the Parties, which plan shall be updated at least every five years, or sooner in the case of significant land use change.