Empowering Private Landowners to Restore Grasslands at Risk

Newswise — Encroaching woody plants such as the eastern redcedar are affecting many privately owned grasslands in the Midwestern United States. The attitudes and behaviors of private landowners to redcedar expansion are essential to preserving the remaining tallgrass prairie. Landowners must join forces to identify management strategies that will minimize this threat to grassland ecosystems. However, the owners’ attitudes toward taking steps to manage the restoration of the grasslands may affect efforts to preserve the prairie.

The November 2010 issue of the journal Rangeland Ecology & Management presents the results of a survey of landowners in the Grand River Grasslands region of southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Landowners presented their views concerning land usage, land management practices, and control of invasive plant species.

The vast majority (94%) of landowners indicated that being a good steward of the land is important to their land management decisions; however, there was disagreement on what actions a good land steward should adopt. Landowners who depend on grasslands for agricultural income have different priorities than landowners who use these grasslands primarily for recreational purposes.

Landowners expectedly focus primarily on management of their own property, but they have a limited vision of regional grasslands as a unified ecosystem. Reducing soil erosion, controlling invasive species, protecting wildlife habitat, and enhancing watersheds were all identified as important by owners, but they may not fully appreciate that grassland restoration contributes to all these goals.

At one time fire and grazing naturally controlled woody plant invasion in tallgrass prairie, but now no more than 68% of landowners see grazing as a legitimate land management activity, and only 50% view prescribed burning as a legitimate tool to control invasive species and restore grasslands. This survey indicates that many private landowners have limited experience with prescribed burns and that many would benefit from recommendations of natural resource professionals. Unfortunately, all landowners share a common distrust of agencies and individuals who can provide them with this information.

The authors recommend an intervention strategy that seeks to form a core group of landowners with a vision for grassland restoration that may act as a catalyst for change. This group could effectively convey the message to other landowners in ways that harmonize local agricultural production and conservation goals. It was concluded that finding common ground is the key to preserving the tallgrass prairie.

Full text of the article, “Perceptions of Landowners Concerning Conservation, Grazing, Fire, and Eastern Redcedar Management in Tallgrass Prairie,” Rangeland Ecology & Management, Vol. 63, No. 6, November 2010, is available at http://www2.allenpress.com/pdf/REM-D-09-00041.pdf.

About Rangeland Ecology & ManagementRangeland Ecology & Management is a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Range Management that is published six times a year. The journal provides a forum for the presentation and discussion of research information, concepts, and philosophies pertaining to the function, management, and sustainable use of global rangeland resources. The journal is available online at www.srmjournals.org. To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.rangelands.org/.