By: Nico Marchand, Manomet and Joaquín Aldabe, Manomet
On September 8-9, the first meeting of the Sustainable Grazing Network was held in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. The main goal of the meeting was to create a forum to build understanding, trust and relationships between conservationists and ranchers to improve and expand rangeland conservation.
During the first day of presentations, the general context of the region was shared: high levels of grassland transformation in North America and Mexico in particular, with the consequent decline in populations of many grassland bird species. Thanks to the sustained effort of several local organizations, several ranchers from the Sustainable Grazing Network of Northern Mexico presented exciting initiatives with conservation results at the farm level.
One of the most valued aspects of the event was the presence and participation of technicians and producers from similar or parallel initiatives occurring in other regions of the Americas, including the Grassland Alliance of the Southern Cone of South America and grassland sites within WHSRN throughout the Americas.
Left: Participants observe example practices in the field. Right: Participants join in discussions with other members of the Sustainable Grazing Network. Photos: Nico Marchand.
It is important to note that the grasslands of Chihuahua are home to the WHSRN site Pastizales de Janos y Ascensión, a Site of Regional Importance declared in 2010 for hosting more than 2.4% of the world population of the Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus), and between 2.4 and 5.5% of the estimated population of the Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus), both species considered to be of High Concern. It was very important to strengthen ties with various local stakeholders to expand opportunities for collaboration and promote the exchange of experiences and positive results being obtained by ranchers throughout the Americas regarding the conservation of grassland shorebirds.
The second day of the meeting was a field trip to understand the livestock management carried out in two farms that are members of the Sustainable Grazing Network of Northern Mexico, “Tapiecitas” owned by Marco Jeffers and “El Quemado” owned by Alberto Varela were visited.
During these visits, participants learned about the strategy used by the Network’s ranchers to manage the entire herd. For example, at Tapiecitas ranch, with a total area of about 3,000 hectares, about 500 head of cattle are managed in a single small plot (five hectares), with very intensive grazing for short time period, until rotated to another plot. There is frequent rotations and long recovery times for the grazed plots. The abundance of forage available for the cattle (compared to neighboring plots under continuous grazing) was noted, as well as the ease and speed of installation of the temporary fencing by means of electric wires placed from a motorcycle which delimit the dynamic grazing plots with the use of the “Pasture Management” software.
Checking out shorebird habitat with cattle pasture. Photo: Nico Marchand
From the point of view of the birds, this type of management seeks to promote a wide spatial heterogeneity in the structure of the pasture, providing a great diversity of habitat for grassland birds (short pastures, medium pastures and tall pastures) at all times, the impact is verified in the bird monitoring carried out on the ranches.
We also had the opportunity to announce and invite the farmers and technicians to participate in the first meeting of Farmers of the Coastal Lagoons of Uruguay, which was held on October 1st. At this meeting we were able to learn about the management actions carried out by Uruguayan ranchers to conserve their grassland shorebirds (particularly Calidris subruficollis and Pluvialis dominica), as well as the synergies that have been achieved and are actively promoted with different agricultural institutions in the country, such as producers’ organizations (e.g. Uruguayan Association of Pastureland Ranchers), agricultural extension agencies (e.g. Instituto Plan Agropecuario) and national ministries (e.g. Ministry of Livestock and Ministry of Environment).
This event provided the opportunity for new connections, the strengthening of existing ties, valuable exchanges, and analysis of future perspectives and opportunities with ranchers and technicians from institutions that share similar conservation goals and objectives. Among these, we highlight and thank the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (BCR); PRONATURA; Species, Society and Habitat (ESHAC) and United States Forest Service who facilitated and so generously hosted us in Chihuahua.
Cover Photo: Participants of the first meeting of the Sustainable Grazing Network. Photo: Nico Marchand.
