USU Extension and Partners Benefit from Grassland Reserve Program Funding

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service recently announced the availability of $2.3 million in additional funding through the Grassland Reserve Program to conserve important sage-grouse habitats in Utah. The funds support ongoing efforts under a Sage-Grouse Initiative begun by NRCS in 2010 that provides funding and technical assistance to landowners who want to improve their ranching operations and increase sage-grouse populations. 

Utah State University Extension provides NRCS with public outreach and research support as an SGI conservation partner. Other partners include the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Bureau of Land Management, Mule Deer Foundation, Farm Bureau, Utah Cattlemen’s Association and Utah’s Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups.

Research conducted by USU has confirmed the benefits of NRCS conservation practices for both sage-grouse and landowners. Information generated from this research is being applied across the western United States.

Terry Messmer, USU Extension wildlife specialist and a lead researcher for the program, said that the recent increase in funding in Utah for the Grassland Reserve Program under the Sage-grouse Initiative is a clear demonstration of NRCS’s commitment to sustaining Utah communities and wildlife.

“These programs have made a significant impact in reducing the threats to sage-grouse while sustaining local economies,” he said.   

Sage-grouse numbers have generally declined across the West, due to development, weed and juniper encroachment, wildfire, fence collisions and improper range management. Many of the threats to sage-grouse are also threats to sustainable ranching operations and to game species. Sage-grouse populations in some areas in recent years have started to stabilize or recover due to coordinated efforts to reduce these threats. 

In Utah, the GRP funds will be distributed among seven projects in Rich, Box Elder and San Juan counties. Most of the projects will be 10-to-20-year rental agreements with ranchers to apply a prescribed grazing plan that includes the rotation and timing of livestock grazing. Two projects will involve the purchase of easements that will protect grouse from development and fragmentation pressures in the developing areas of northern Utah.

Private land eligible for the Grassland Reserve Program includes current or historical grassland and shrubland where grazing is the predominant land use. The participating rancher must develop and comply with a grazing management plan, contribute to the installation costs and maintain the installed conservation measures. The program payments are 50 percent of actual costs.

“Utah ranchers are aware of the important relationship between their livestock and wildlife,” said Bill Hopkins, a former ranch manager in the Rich County area and current coordinator of Utah’s Grazing Improvement Program. “This program can help improve traditional livestock rangeland which in turn can create habitat that is also beneficial for Utah sage-grouse.”

Support for sage-grouse conservation work is echoed by participants in Utah’s 11 Sage-grouse Local Working Groups. A recent survey of participants confirmed they place high value on coordinated efforts to protect Utah's land, water and western heritage.

Working group participants also expressed appreciation for the enhanced communication that now exists between NRCS, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ensuring that future decisions regarding listing of sage-grouse for protection under the Endangered Species Act are based on current data and that partners and producers receive recognition for implementing voluntary conservation.

Related link:

Utah State University Extension

Contact: Terry Messmer, USU Extension wildlife specialist, (435) 797-3975, terry.messmer@usu.edu

 Writer: Julene Reese, USU Extension writer, 435-797-0810, julene.reese@usu.edu