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Farming is a Vital Link
Farming can serve as a vital link for habitat protection. Protecting,
restoring, and expanding habitats and buffering water bodies within and between
farm and ranch boundaries should become a top priority for land owners,
conservationists, government agencies, land trusts, and others. Wildlife
corridors, protected waterways, and other natural linkages on wildlife-friendly
farms and ranches can provide vital conservation benefits, such as clean air and
water, clean and stable soils, and varied habitat for native species. However,
larger blocks of habitat are needed in addition to buffers and linear features.
Conservation-based agriculture is a landscape approach to farming and ranching that attempts to place an optimum value on food and fiber production as well as the many noncrop services and contributions to healthy rural landscapes. The primary objective of conservation-based agriculture is the creation of economically viable farming and ranching operations that are compatible with wild nature. The expansion of protected and restored natural habitats, in response to careful study of ecosystem health, must become a priority in agricultural regions throughout the country.
Practices such as pasture-based meat production, diversified land use (supplementing field crops with livestock, perennial crops, and woodlots), establishing habitat buffers along river systems, and protecting critical natural areas on and adjacent to farms and ranches help to establish a sense of fluidity or permeability on the agricultural landscape.
A number of different strategies can contribute to a conservation-based farm or ranch plan:
- Mapping the landscape. Maps compile the unique characteristics of a given property as well as the lands outside its borders in the context of the broader watershed or ecoregion. These maps can detail diverse layers of data, such as species surveys, historical land uses, soil types and climatic influences, floodplain patterns, upland and lowland linkages, wildlife movements, and other essential planning information. Landowners can obtain information from state wildlife agencies, Natural Heritage programs, and other sources.
- Using complementary practices. Agricultural practices themselves can directly reflect a conservation ethic. Pasturing, mowing, and planting can be carefully timed to protect breeding habitat. Perennial intensive pasturing systems essentially mimic grassland conditions. Baseline standards for organic farming have been shown to significantly reduce impacts on birds and amphibians. Cultivation practices can also be developed that respect natural processes such as flooding or fire in certain areas.
- Fish, wildlife and habitat monitoring. Monitoring the movements of fish and wildlife on farms as well as within broader rural areas can help set priorities for conservation efforts. This can be done working with conservation groups and by participating in annual bird surveys, and soliciting biological inventories. An excellent resource is Monitoring on Your Farm: A Guide to Tracking and Understanding the Resources and Wildlife on Your Land, available from Yolo County, California. Larger scale habitat monitoring is also important.
- Providing connectivity. An individual farm or ranch must be seen as both a stable environment, as well as an integral part of the broader flows of water, fish and wildlife movements, and natural cycles and processes. Connectivity within a farm can be achieved through intentional plantings around and between fields. Tailwater ponds can filter irrigation water as well as providing important habitat. Efforts should be made to link restored and protected habitats to larger patches whenever possible within the broader ecoregion.
- Preserving and restoring native habitat. Linkages can be provided by protecting large blocks of intact, undisturbed habitat, by eliminating non-native invasive species, and by encouraging the re-establishment of native vegetation. The North American Native Plant Society is a good resource to get started.
- Enrolling in conservation incentive programs. Cost-share programs can be used to help defray the costs of creating wide buffers around cultivation areas or in wetland, grassland, or woodland areas. Long term or permanent easements can help protect priority habitat from unwanted subdivision or development. Conservation programs can also be initiated to return marginally productive lands to valuable habitat or to protect sensitive or threatened species in an area. Learn more about state and federal incentives programs.
- Adaptive management. Conservation-based agriculture is more approach than prescription. Adaptive management embraces this ongoing process with a balance between action and observation, encouraging landowners to "try, monitor, adjust, and try again."
In this section. . .
There is a direct correlation between our grocery lists and the endangered species list.
Practices such as pasture-based meat production, diversified land use, habitat buffers along river systems, and protecting critical natural areas on farms and ranches help to establish a sense of fluidity or permeability on the agricultural landscape.
Conservation-based agriculture must take place on a landscape scale, and optimizing conservation values on individual properties is essential.
Criteria that define biodiversity protection on organic farms and ranches, and potential benefits and challenges to landowners.
