Conservation Grazing

Why would a conservation organization want to implement grazing practices? A few benefits include the enhancement of neighbor/community relations, revenue generation, and habitat management. In the US, there are currently 770 million acres of grazing land that are not considered parts of conservation efforts. However, with the rising concern for agricultural conservation, many efforts are planning to incorporate grazing practices into their strategies. Many conservation organizations are creating partnerships to compliment each others' work. For example, two organizations might create a partnership in which one organization concentrates on a grazing operation while the other concentrates on a cattle system to restore the ecosystem.
Other conservation methods, such as mow brush encroaching in a prairie, calls for lots of fuel and transportation. These methods don't seem like the most efficient in terms of cost or ecological purpose. Many farmers who use the alternative methods to grazing believe that habitat loss and species endangerment are two great risks of grazing methods. However, with an additional focus on biodiversity. Studies actually show that populations are benefited by grazing techniques. For example, in one study provided in this document, the Greater Prairie Chicken and the Bobwhite Quail species were actually shown to increase in population size during the presence of grazing methods and decrease after the methods were removed from the habitat.
*The studies on rotational grazing included in this document were conducted by the National Audubon Society.