925.784-8303 ksweet@cattlemen.net

Projects

Integrated Scenarios for Assessing Threats to Ecosystem Services on California Rangelands

We developed six scenarios organized around our management question: How can we maintain viable ranchland and their ecosystem services in light of future integrated threats? The scenarios represent alternative futures of climate/land use/hydrological change for the California Rangeland Conservation Coalition (Rangeland Coalition) focus area (the foothills around the Central Valley and most of the southern Inner Coast Range) We used these scenarios to quantify and map three main rangeland ecosystem services—wildlife habitat, water supply, and carbon sequestration. This website provides a visualization tool to view changes in these ecosystem services across scenarios and years.  The project is the result of collaboration among the USGS, Defenders of Wildlife and the Rangeland Coalition and it is funded by the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative. For more information click here.

 The Wildlife Friendly Livestock Pond and Rangeland Health Initiative

The survival and recovery of two California amphibians increasingly depends on these livestock ponds and the efforts of local cattle ranchers. The California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander occur primarily on rangelands, where the primary management activity is cattle grazing. To support ranchers who want to repair, restore, and manage stock ponds and uplands for habitat, the initiative offers ranchers in Alameda County several incentives:

  1. 90% cost share that leverages funds from NRCS, USFWS, and the California Coastal Conservancy
  2. Programmatic environmental permitting through our Permit Coordination Program
  3. Safe Harbor Agreements
  4. Leveraging EQIP cost share programs

The program demonstrates how ranchers and rare species can benefit each other, how public agencies can help, and the technical, economic and regulatory tools needed to do so. This initiative is a partnership among the Alameda and Contra Costa RCDs, the Rangeland Coalition and multiple project sponsors.