Resilient grasslands support vibrant ranching communities, robust grassland bird populations, and sustainable ecosystem services.
Resilient Grasslands
photo by Mitch Kezar
Our Region
conservation across the plains
Long-billed Curlew by Ron R Bielefeld
Protecting and restoring America’s grasslands is essential to advancing nature-based solutions for sequestering carbon into the soil; securing and improving wildlife habitat; reducing the impacts of climate change; and improving landscape resilience while supporting Native nations, ranchers, farmers, sportsmen and -women, and rural communities. The World Wildlife Fund’s 2023 Plowprint report shows a loss of 1.6 million acres of grassland habitat in the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in 2021 – acres plowed up primarily for row crop agriculture. For the NGPJV region, the loss is about 120,000 acres. In total, 32 million acres have fallen to the plow since 2012. Read the report to learn more about the state of grasslands across the Great Plains and the opportunities that WWF has identified as offering the most promise for the future of this irreplaceable landscape.
Recent News
Virtually Invisible: How a North Dakota Rancher is Using New Technology to Manage Healthy Prairie
Southwestern North Dakota is a region unknown to many. Ask a passerby what the landscape looks like and you will get a variety of answers. Some of the responses may include dry, flat, grassy, badlands, open, rolling hills, or ‘I have no idea’. A hidden gem in this unknown area is the Stewart Lake National
Reconnecting America’s Grasslands
On a cool, rainy day in August, roughly 300 people from across the continent converged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Crow, and Shoshone people, to attend the 6th Biennial America’s Grassland Conference. Hosted by the National Wildlife Federation and the University of Wyoming, the conference emphasized connecting both people and
WWF Ranch Systems and Viability Planning Network (RSVP) Summary
RSVP Overview and Enrollment: World Wildlife Fund’s Ranch Systems and Viability Planning Network (RSVP) takes a community-based approach to preserving the open space, ecological integrity, and community livelihoods of the Northern Great Plains (NGP) ecosystem. By centering the goals of individual ranchers and local communities which own and manage over 70% of the NGP, WWF