Promoting the Utilization of Prescribed Fire and Patchburn Grazing as Acceptable Management Practices for Private Rangelands in the Prairie Coteau Region of South Dakota and Minnesota

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will use a comprehensive private lands integrated fire and patch-burn grazing system to assess landowner operations and respond to those assessments by providing the necessary tools and knowledge to the producer to meet Habitat and forage goals and ultimately improve biodiversity. TNC has established five active demonstration sites specifically designed to transfer knowledge and understanding of advanced fire and grazing systems. TNC is now poised to implement the second major phase of the project, which includes on-site evaluations of private lands, fire and grazing planning, and coordination of fire and grazing implementation. By utilizing CIG funds, we plan to perform preliminary site assessments including floristic quality indexing, establishment of grazing exclosures, species composition analysis, and Habitat structural analysis. Following pre-treatment site analysis, TNC will work with landowners to implement ecologically sound prescribed grazing and burning practices that augment not only the Habitat quality of the site, but also serve to enhance the producers overall ranch management and income potential. TNC anticipates the majority of the funding necessary to perform the actual fire implementation will come from additional funding sources. However, a portion of these funds may be utilized to perform fire implementation on pre-established demonstration sites. TNC’s objective for this project is to conduct biological assessments and management planning. Ultimately, our goal over time and with additional funding sources is to work with producers to implement patch-burn grazing systems that are economically feasible and ultimately self-sustaining, thus maintaining or increasing cattle production while concurrently stimulating biodiversity and structural Habitat mosaic.