An Overview Of Our Solution
This entry details an agricultural conservation project in Pueblo County, CO. The project demonstrates specific methodology to improve soil health, wildlife habitat, and agricultural value in the project area. The project area is defined by the western end of the Graneros Mesa, a native prairie bench of rolling hills which falls off into deep, rugged canyons which are locally known as arroyos. The arroyos of the Graneros are dominated by middle to late age pinyon-juniper forest complex, a vegetative condition which has lead to significant ecological degradation. The project highlighted in this entry has demonstrated approachable, low impact, low input solutions to reviving the ecological condition of the pinyon-juniper arroyos and neighboring shortgrass prairie. This entry also identifies strategies to scale the project success in a socially complex landbase.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: North America
General Information
Organization type
Corporation
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Deserts
Forests
Grasslands
Population impacted
10 on ranch, 100s downstream
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
700 acres
Production quantity
1500#/acre
People employed
2
Solution
Describe your solution
The solution presented in this entry is part of a larger holistic ranch management practice. The landowner has committed to a decision making process that evaluates ecological, economic, and social cost and benefits. This managerial practice is something that the project proponent also advocates. Through this holistic view of land management, adaptive solutions can be created and implemented, then evaluated for triple bottom line success. Specific to this entry, the holistic process of evaluating projects has kept the landowner and the project proponent coming back to the site to continually evaluate the project success. Through this discipline, we have been able to identify shortcomings in original project design that can be corrected in future projects. The love of the experiment and the foundation approach to management is a driving factor in the success of this project. This management practice is promoted through other educational opportunities through the region. We hope to utilize this project as a demonstration site to encourage not only replication of the techniques used in the project, but also the holistic mindset in which the project was developed. That outreach is difficult as the surrounding landbase is dominated by absentee landowners and landowners with no agricultural or conservation context. By working with nonprofits, government agencies, and local governments, we hope to effectively put together a larger demonstration site that can perpetuate our success
Implementation
Describe your implementation
This entry’s solution includes thinning and clearing late age, crowded juniper trees from the project site. A new project begins with site design and preparation. Juniper trees are marked to either be thinned/highlined, cleared, or left intact. The general contour of the site is also delineated. The cutting then begins at the top of the project site. Cut material is piled sinuously on contour, creating “wattles”. These wattles, as described below are a major functional element in the success of this solution. After the site has been worked through, a final shaping of the wattles takes place to ensure that they are perfectly on contour. Any significant erosion points are addressed with additional, low impact, erosion controls methods. Finally the site is densely grazed with cattle. This grazing session jumpstarts biotic function through deposition of urine and manure, as well as intense hoof action. The project site will then be rested for two growing seasons to allow grass plants to become established. After this rest period, the site will be included into the ranch’s grazing plan.
The success realized in this project can be directly attributed to the landowner’s willingness to experiment with new methodologies and holistic approach to management. We have consistently monitored the results of project from a qualitative standpoint and publicized our success on social media, which has received very positive interest and response. Vegetation and habitat monitoring will be mandatory on all future projects and will be done in a quantitative manner. The largest constraints to the project so far have been equipment and time limitations. If scaled, these limitations will be resolved through adequate funding and formal project planning processes. This project is being maintained into the future by a very supportive landowner who has realized the direct and indirect economic and ecological benefits from implementing this management strategy.
External connections
Primary stakeholder in this solution is the landowner. Any landowner that implements this solution will realize an increase ecological, agriculture, and aesthetic value on their property. This ultimately leads to more value in the land asset as a whole. New solutions are slow to be adopted due to the lack of local examples; each landowner that implements this strategy will also have a permanent demonstration site that can be used as a local example for neighboring to consider. Downstream landowners will receive a direct benefit from upstream solution implementation. This solution, if managed properly, can correct watershed dysfunction and as a result positively influence the presence of springs in the watershed. This live water flows onto downstream neighbors, significantly increasing their land value in the same ways mentioned above. If implemented at scale, this solution can have significant positive impact on the watershed by significantly reducing runoff sediment loading. Increase in runoff water quality has a positive impact on fisheries, livestock production, municipal water resources, and hydrologic function of the watershed. It has been demonstrated in nearby sites that perennial stream function can be induced in the dry arroyos in this region. Upland vegetation management, as presented in this solution, enhances and supports that potential success. The watershed, and those that benefit from it, is the ultimate stakeholder in the implementation of this solution
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
This solution focuses specifically on the ecological challenges associated with middle to late age pinyon juniper forests on shallow, highly erodible soils. The main issue in pinyon juniper forest health is the the competition for available soil moisture with neighboring fauna, competition with neighboring fauna for space (i.e. shading and crowding). This competition leads to decrease soil cover and decreased soil organic matter due to the loss of grass and shrub species, ultimately leading to little or no soil depth or structure for future grasses and shrubs to utilize. The ecological consequences of late stage juniper growth are confounded by the historical grazing management in the project area. Set stocking of cattle in low densities for long periods of time have caused the biotic function of the landscape to become dysfunctional.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Ungulate presence is critical in most, if not all, natural systems. Historically on this site, cattle rarely utilize the juniper stands because of the density of trees (low mobility and low visibility) and the lack of forage. This non utilization completely removes the benefit of biotic inputs into the ecosystem through dung, manure, and root stimulation by grazing. Additionally, the grasslands above the pinyon juniper arroyos were understocked and overgrazed leading to flash erosion events, low soil productivity, and minimal forage growth. The solution presented in this entry addresses these ecological concerns in a manner that positively increases ecological biodiversity, soil health and stability, and the agricultural value of the site.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
Implementation of this solution induces a significant impact to ecological function in the treated area. This is done through the deposition of sediment, the decomposition of juniper needles, microclimates created by treatment, sheltering of seed source plants, and biotic input through adaptive grazing. When the wattles are constructed, the juniper branches desiccate and drop needles to the soil surface. This mass of needles incorporates into the soil, increasing organic matter, and slows surface runoff. The needleless branches provide protect to fledgling grass plants that utilize the newly forming soil underneath the wattle. Microclimates around thinned trees, in open spaces, and amongst the wattles provides a variety of conditions to be exploited by a flush of diverse grass species. The increase in forage and mobility in and through the pinyon juniper stand, while also providing sufficient cover, is a strong attractant for multiple species of wildlife.
Language(s)
English on project, English and Spanish regionally
Water
500 characters max.
Food Security/Nutrition
500 characters max.
Economic/Sustainable Development
500 characters max.
Climate
500 characters max.
Sustainability
The solution presented is flexible enough that an individual landowner can implement the methodology as time and personal funding allows. In order to implement this solution on a project basis at a watershed scale, supplemental funding would be necessary to see the project completed within a reasonable timeframe. Supplemental funding is most likely to be provided in grant form from wildlife interest groups (seeking to fund habitat enhancement projects) or government agencies (seeking to fund ecological conservation projects). One alternative method of funding larger scale projects would be the generation and sale of ecosystem services credits. This funding strategy is still in development by the project proponent.
Return on investment
Cost per acre to implement this solution ranges from $200 to $300 USD per acre. This price can fluctuate depending on labor cost, acres treated, juniper density, and topographic or geographic limitations (access). Return of investment from this solution from an agricultural perspective is estimated to be 10 years based on local pasture lease rates and percent increase in forage value. Ecosystem services (wildlife habitat, watershed health, soil health) realize a noticeable return on investment within three years post-treatment. This ecosystem services ROI is estimated based on noticeable qualitative change in ecosystem function by the project proponent and landowner.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Trimming and highling junipers for forest stand management is not unique. Setting trimmed material, from what we have researched, is a fairly unique practice. Other practices that target pinyon juniper forest health include prescribed fire or mulching. Compared to these methodologies our strategy is more expensive. However, compared to other methodologies, this solution has higher precision and flexibility in meeting landscape management goals. Future funding requirements would be primarily for the installation labor and project design (see attached project cost calculator). Any additional expense associated with the project would be additional managerial desires by the project managers (i.e. monitoring, publicizing). Moving forward into a scaled project, additional equipment would be needed. This would include new chainsaws, personal protective equipment, and fuel. Depending on scale, multiple saws and an off road vehicle (UTV or ATV) would need to be purchased.