Rangeland Resolution

The Rangeland Resolution recognizes that the health of these rangelands and the diversity of species they support are largely due to grazing and other land stewardship practices of the ranchers that own and manage them. It is affirmed by agricultural organizations, environmental interest groups, and academia, as well as state and federal agencies.  

California Rangeland Resolution

The undersigned recognize the critical importance of California’s rangelands, which support important ecosystems and other natural resources and are the foundation of the ranching industry.

WHEREAS, these rangelands include rich and varied landscapes of grasslands, oak woodlands, mixed forests, vernal pools, riparian areas and other wetlands that support numerous imperiled species, many native plants once common throughout California, and the highest diversity and density of wintering raptors anywhere in North America; and that provide many other natural resource benefits to California;

WHEREAS, most of California’s rangelands, and the species that rely on these habitats, persist in large part due to longstanding stewardship by the ranchers who have owned and managed these lands and who are committed to a healthy future for their working landscapes;

WHEREAS, many of California’s rangelands are located in the State’s fastest-growing counties and are at significant risk of conversion to development and other uses;

WHEREAS, rangelands are a critical foundation of the economic and social fabric of California’s ranching industry and rural communities, and active stewardship of private and other rangelands by ranching families can ensure that they will continue to provide important public benefits for all Californians;

THEREFORE, we declare that it is our goal to collaboratively work together to protect and enhance California’s rangeland landscapes by:

• Supporting the long-term viability of the ranching industry, its privately-owned rangelands, and its culture, by providing economic, social and other incentives, by reducing barriers to proactive stewardship on ranchlands, and by conserving privately-owned ranches and maintaining and enhancing opportunities for ecologically sound stewardship of public rangelands;
• Keeping common species common on working landscapes, and by working to recover imperiled species and enhance habitat on rangelands while seeking to  improve the regulatory environment in which rangeland managers operate and to streamline the permitting processes;
• Understanding that livestock grazing may not be appropriate or viable on certain sensitive landscapes, working to increase our understanding of appropriate management on these landscapes;
• Increasing private, state and federal funding, technical expertise, rangeland research and other assistance to continue and expand the ranching community’s beneficial land stewardship practices that benefit rangeland ecosystems, are fully compatible with normal ranching practices, and that encourage voluntary, collaborative and locally-led conservation that has proven to be very effective in maintaining and enhancing working landscapes;
• Educating the public about the benefits of grazing and ranching on California’s rangelands.

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Click HERE to see all current Signatories.