Co-developing criteria for white bark pine friendly ranching

Commodities

• Additional Plants: native plants
• Animals: bovine, sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: rangeland/pasture management
• Education and Training: participatory research
• Natural Resources/Environment: habitat enhancement

In Idaho and Montana, many public lands cattle and sheep ranchers are interdependent with forested public lands. Because social support for ranching on public lands is declining, and conservation concerns for biodiversity is increasing, ranchers need science-based grazing guidelines to improve and get credit for their land stewardship, especially where grazing occurs on lands home to the threatened whitebark pine tree. We propose to develop and deploy a prototype “Whitebark Pine Friendly Ranching  Certification”, following the success of a similar protocol for ski resorts in the region. Using two mountain ranges as test cases, our research questions center on 1) mapping: where do whitebark pine exist near livestock? 2) ecological assessment and monitoring: indicators of tree mortality, canopy structure, understory vegetation composition, livestock presence, and wildlife presence?  3) livestock grazing: how does sheep grazing impact whitebark pine seedlings? 4) local ecological knowledge: manager observations of ecology, grazing, and social change.  We will develop the project with ranchers, scientists, students, conservation groups and land managers in multiple meetings, and conduct an immersive backcountry tour of whitebark/grazing interactions. We will also develop a curriculum and internship program at University of Montana-Western. By braiding local and scientific knowledge into online outreach products and the Certification, we expect outcomes such as: 1) improvement and recognition of ranching practices that enhance forest conservation; 2) increased social support for ranching on public lands; 3) new relationships, and increased trust, and respect among different stakeholders; 4) improved sustainability of ranching enterprises.

The goal of this project is to advance sustainable grazing practices in high-elevation mountain ecosystems by improving the science on how grazing interacts with a threatened tree species, the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). This project addresses rangeland-based sheep and cattle production, as well as backcountry outfitting agricultural businesses. Specifically, producers, researchers, and students will collaborate to conduct forest mapping and monitoring, a grazing experiment, and oral history interviews that will feed into the development of a prototype “White Bark Pine Friendly Ranching” certification protocol. Working in Montana and Idaho, our team will co-develop and deliver the research findings to ranchers, conservation groups, managers, and students through a novel outreach and education program that involves online and in-person training activities led by the University of Montana-Western. The specific project objectives are:

Research Objective 1: Map
whitebark and grazing interactions in existing grazing allotments Centennial and Gravelly Mountains.

Research Objective 2: Assess current ecological conditions and develop a long-term monitoring study in areas where grazing and whitebark pine have historically overlapped in the Centennial (Idaho) and Gravelly Mountains (Montana).

Research Objective 3: Quantify the capacity of sheep grazing to promote the conditions for whitebark establishment.

Research Objective 4: Document local knowledge ecological change in the grazing allotments. Use interviews and oral histories with ranchers, herders, range riders, outfitters, and other land users (n>15) to document: land use, changes in forest and watershed conditions, grazing cultures, and emergent challenges. 

Research Objective 5: Develop a prototype “whitebark pine friendly ranching certification”.

Education Objective 1: Increase awareness and adoption of whitebark pine friendly grazing practices among agricultural producers.

Education Objective 2: Create a new learning community that builds trust and supports co-development of scientific and local knowledge of sustainable ranching practices in whitebark pine habitat.

Education Objective 3: Broaden participation, build research capacity, and train a new generation of rangeland scientists in sustainable agricultural research and education.