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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 100 agricultural organizations, environmental interest groups, as well as state and federal agencies. New signatories continue to sign on to the resolution on a regular basis.
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. Signatories 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 and outlined in more detail within the Strategic Plan.
The Strategic Plan lays the foundation for Signatories to work together to acquire additional federal funding for conservation programs, coordinate permitting processes, garner support for cooperative conservation projects, fulfill research gaps, conduct outreach on the positive role of managed grazing and provide incentives for ecosystem services.
Signatories have gathered the past seven January's for the annual Summit. The 7th annual Summit is set for January 19-20, 2012. The Summit is an opportunity to build trust, hear from researchers about the ecological benefits of grazing and more.
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. For additional details please look over the rangeland research included on this site.
For more information on the partnership contact Rangeland Coalition staff.
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