Some ranchers and conservationists agree: Grazing and logging can save birds

Juncos, blackbirds, meadowlarks and other common species comprise two-thirds of the 3 billion birds lost in the last half century, a decline scientists have likened to that of the now-extinct passenger pigeon. Yet they thrive on Dusty Downey’s ranch. His fourth-generation cattle operation on northeastern Wyoming’s shortgrass prairie is home to 78 species of birds, including dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), and western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta Downey is among 82 ranchers from Texas to the Dakotas using protocols designed by the National Audubon Society to reinvigorate grassland ecosystems to increase populations of imperiled birds. In exchange, landowners get to place a green seal on their products that, in some cases, have boosted profitability by 10%, according to Audubon. The seal reads, “Grazed on Audubon Certified Bird Friendly Land.” “This market-based approach is very powerful — we’ve used the certification to sell directly to consumers we wouldn’t have been able to before,” Downey, who is also Audubon Rockies’ conservation ranching lead, said in a phone interview. Part of the program’s economic appeal comes from the 115-year-old nonprofit’s ability to market products raised on enrolled ranches to its more than 1.7 million members, he added. The initiative, which has been running for six years, transcends geographic, class and political lines. About seven dozen U.S.-based ranchers who are already participating own and manage a combined 890,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of land throughout 13 states. They work with conservationists and scientists to devise plans to improve native plant communities that struggling bird species rely upon to reproduce. These plans, designed to adapt to changing weather patterns, prescribe rotational grazing, invasive plant control, and building water infrastructure. An independent third-party verification specialist must agree that the plans improve productivity and rangeland bird habitat...MORE