Reviving Working Grasslands
Printed with permission from the April 2024 North Dakota Water magazine and sponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service .
G rasslands throughout the United States are disappearing by approximately 2 percent annually . The 2023 Plowprint Report published by the World Wildlife Fund shows that 1.6 million acres of grasslands across the U . S . and Canadian Great Plains were converted to other uses in 2021 . In total , 32 million acres have been converted since 2012 .
The North Dakota Game and Fish Dept . estimates that approximately 72 percent of native prairie has been lost . Grasslands are one of our richest and most resilient ecosystems . They provide natural cover and diversity on the landscape . They mitigate drought and flooding , they provide a base for food production , they act as a carbon sink to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions , they provide habitat for many native animals , birds and insects , and they offer places for hunting , fishing , birdwatching and other recreation . Enter the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition . Founded in 1996 , the Coalition ’ s mission is to improve stewardship by providing education and technical assistance to producers regarding regenerative and profitable grazing management and building conservation awareness by educating citizens and policy-makers . Trish Feiring is the Coalition ’ s field representative . “ As both a rancher and mentor for the North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition , we need to work extremely hard at keeping grasslands right-side up . Without healthy grasslands we comprise both the health of our livestock and the health of our families .”
The Coalition offers programs and tools for producers and the public to learn about , steward and advocate for grasslands . At the heart of its mission is a statewide mentor network . Thirty-three producer mentors provide guidance and counsel on grazing management issues like fencing , complementary grazing , pest management and cover crops . An interactive map of these mentors and their areas of expertise is available at ndglc . org / mentor-network .
In addition to providing one-on-one consultation , North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition mentors speak at educational events across the state .
A new addition is Grazing Logic , a series of events co-hosted by the Coalition with soil conservation districts and other partners on topics of interest to their communities . For example , the Adams County Soil Conservation District , Bowman-Slope Soil Conservation District and NDSU Extension came together with the Coalition to present Grazing Logic in Reeder last February .
If you ’ re interested in bringing Grazing Logic to your community , contact administrator Lesley Icenogle at ( 701 ) 355--4458 or contact @ ndglc . com . •
We would like to hear from you !
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Dakota Country Magazine PO Box 2714 Bismarck , ND 58502 • mitzeljon @ gmail . com
www . dakotacountrymagazine . com Dakota Country , September 2024 , Page 75