Zumwalt PrairieGrazing Management
By Dane Dostert on 11/10/2009 | Keyword(s): Grazing; Management Program; Conservation Action| The Conservancy is pursuing a sustainable grazing strategy which includes leasing pasture to ranchers in the region and studying the effects of grazing over time to determine Grazing BMP's (Best Management Practices) in an effort to provide ranchers with more information on long-term sustainable grazing levels for the prairie grasslands of Wallowa County. We are utilizing grazing management facilities (fences, stock ponds, etc.) from previous landowners and improving habitat for wildlife through the removal or improvement of existing facilities, such as wildlife friendly fencing. Upland and riparian monitoring sites have been established to allow us to understand the effects of livestock grazing (or exclusion) on prairie and riparian plant communities. In addition, The Conservancy is collaborating with researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) on a research project funded by the US Dept. of Agriculture which aims to understand the effect of various levels of grazing on upland soils, plants, insects, grassland songbirds and the overall ecological function of the ecosystem. See current grazing research as well as the challenges that can arise from livestock management. Zumwalt Prairie research: Tracey N. Johnson, OSU, PhD dissertation on the effects of grazing on songbirds , OSU link Chiho Kimoto, OSU, Masters thesis on the effects of grazing on native bees, OSU link |  |
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