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Rangeland

A glittering beetle, with colors ranging from orange to purple to green. It had one large backwards facing horn on its head, and two ridges on its back.
All About Dung Beetles and Why They Matter
Dung beetles are a key component of a healthy ecosystem, in both natural and agricultural areas!
A wide open field of yellow flowers, short grasses, and scrubs in southeastern Oregon.
Court Tells Federal Agency to Rethink Widespread Pesticide Spray Program
Xerces won a lawsuit that will help to reshape the federal grasshopper management program into one that better supports everyone: ranchers, farmers, and wildlife.
A grassland covered in colorful wildflowers
Inspiration for Pollinator Conservation: Wildflowers on Rangelands
Sarah Hamilton Buxton shares her path to pollinator conservation, and her work to promote more diverse plant communities on rangelands of the Great Plains!
Native grasshoppers in New Mexico
How Advocates Stopped Aerial Insecticide Spray on 25,000 Acres of New Mexico Natural Areas
Within a week of Xerces sounding the alarm about upcoming widespread toxic insecticide spraying in natural areas, New Mexico residents and organizations were collaboratively advocating for the plan to be canceled.
Several people planting seedlings in a prepared site in front of a building
Love for the Land Inspires Pollinator Habitat Conservation Across the Driftless Area
The Driftless Area is a magical and rugged terrain in the midwest, covered in hardwood forests, oak savannas, prairies, and wetlands that provide unique habitat for wildlife of all kinds. In modern times, various factors have changed the landscape. A shared love of the land has inspired a community effort to restore these areas so that its inhabitants can all thrive together.
Part of the bison herd at Rockie Hill Bison Farm, with a view of the city of Winona and the Mississippi River in the background. Photo: Gail Griffin
Selecting seeds for bison, pollinators to share the land
While designing a unique seed mix for restoration takes time, it can be well worth the extra effort. The right mix of plants can boost the long-term ecology and function of a landscape and can be particularly important for working lands – those with multiple uses like agroforestry, grazing and silvopasture. In this article, Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planner Karin Jokela describes making the perfect mix to balance the needs of bison and pollinators.
An area of grassland has been set on fire on purpose. Brown smoke rises into the blue sky from the orange flames that mark the division between the burned and unburned grassland. The burned area to the left is black, the unburned are to the right is green with tall brown stems. A fire manager wearing yellow cloths and a blue helmet is walking along the line of fire.
Burning the Land
Fire has been used to manage prairies for centuries, and remains an important tool for grassland managers to reduce woody plant encroachment and increase flower production of key nectar and pollen sources. However, burning entire landscapes is problematic for pollinators, and fire must be used carefully.
A young burrowing owl runs across the ground with a green grasshopper in its bill. The owls feathers are fuffy. They are brown on its back and top of heard and white on its belly and chest. Its face is brown with horizontal stripes of white across its chin and forehead and it has striking yellow eyes that have a black center.
Protecting Grassland Ecosystems from Insecticides
Grasshoppers play a central role in rangeland ecosystems and food webs. Herbivory by grasshoppers speeds up the recycling of nutrients from plants, and they are a vital part of the diet of dozens of other rangeland animals. Aerial spraying campaigns to control grasshoppers have wide impacts on rangeland ecology. Xerces staff are working to reduce spraying and protect rangeland wildlife.
Gently undulating rangeland stretches to the horizon. The silver-grey leaves of plants show between the green grass. In the distance a cluster of farm buildings sit in the shelter of trees. Brown and black cattle graze.
Great Plains Rangelands Are Important Habitat for Pollinators
Rangelands of the Great Plains are a highly diverse—and endangered—ecosystem filled with subtle beauty that is often underappreciated. These landscapes evolved with natural disturbances, such as grazing and wildfire. Maintaining disturbance through active management is essential for healthy rangelands and pollinators.
A cow and her calf, both black, lie in the middle of sagebrush and grasses, with the rangeland stretching away to the horizon.
Planned Grasshopper Sprays Threaten Monarchs, Bees, Beneficial Insects, and Birds Across Western Rangelands
Rangelands of the western United States are home to many amazing species of wildlife from sage-grouse to butterflies, and frequently used for cattle grazing. A significant proportion of rangelands are publicly owned, so how they are managed, especially when it comes to grasshopper control, is a topic of great concern.
The green grass of this Texas prairie is dotted with blue lupines, red paintbrush, and creamy colored yucca
Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change On Grassland Butterflies
Grasslands provide important habitat for a range of butterflies, some of which rely on these open sunny habitats for survival. Climate change adds an extra layer of threat and concern.
A small aircraft flies close to the ground as it sprays insecticides on rangeland
Home on the Range: Grasshoppers and Insecticides on Western Rangelands
Usually considered competitors with livestock for forage, grasshoppers can actually be beneficial to rangelands by affecting plant composition, and even influence the soil microbial communities. They also play a critical role in the grassland food web. Despite the inability to tie grasshopper densities to the potential for damage, planes and ground crews are deployed every summer to spray against grasshoppers.
A monarch clings to the trunk of a tree in a dimly-lit landscape.
Thanksgiving Count Shows Western Monarchs Need Our Help More than Ever
The western monarch population remains at a critical level. With some luck and a lot of hard work, we have hope that we can save this incredible migration.
Rugged mountains and pine trees, some reddish brown and some green, are shown in this Colorado landscape.
Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – September 2019
September’s featured staff members have been providing Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kits to select organizations in California, training Colorado Department of Transportation staff on roadside pollinator habitat, and attending the America’s Grasslands Conference, held this year in North Dakota.
A thick bed of bright green clover blooms with red and white flowers amid rows of almond trees.
Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – April 2019
April’s featured staff—all Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planners—are driving the adoption of cover cropping in California, guiding farmers to support pollinators in Maine, and teaching the importance of rangeland to pollinator conservation in North Dakota.

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