The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and partners have awarded a $3.1 million grant to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and collaborators to help keep grasslands intact across the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains. Researchers are using the funding to develop practical solutions that help ranchers maintain thriving, working grasslands while slowing conversion to other uses.
TNC is collaborating with core research partners, including Colorado State University, Cornell University, Michigan State University, Nature United, the University of Alberta, the University of Wyoming and World Wildlife Fund. Researchers at South Dakota State University, the University of Nebraska, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Waterloo are also collaborating on this project.
Well-managed grasslands provide essential forage for livestock while also supporting wildlife habitat, storing carbon in soils and protecting clean water. However, these ecosystems are disappearing rapidly. Over the last decade, North America has lost more than 50 million acres of grassland, partially due to increased pressure to convert these ecosystems to farmland to meet rising demand for agricultural products.
Once grasslands are converted, the impacts can be long-lasting: wildlife habitat declines, livestock production decreases and soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere, and significant time and money are spent on restoration.