The Climate Adaptation and Resilience Program awarded a grant of $512,000 from California Climate Investments to Audubon California to assist ranchers in transitioning to more regenerative grazing approaches through a ranch certification program.
California has 61 million acres of rangelands that provide food production, carbon sequestration, water infiltration, and habitat for a wide variety of species. California grasslands are more reliable and resilient carbon sinks than forests. However, this land use is under threat with an average of 20,000 acres a year being lost to development or crop conversion. Climate change, invasive species, aquifer depletion, and poor grazing practices also degrade large portions of grasslands, increasing economic and ecological vulnerability. To slow the loss of rangelands, stabilize declining wildlife populations, and contribute to climate change mitigation, Audubon created the Audubon Conservation Ranching Program (ACR).
ACR fosters the development of ranch‑specific Habitat Management Plans and certified regenerative grazing practices to increase climate‑driven drought resiliency, rebuild soil organic matter, enhance plant diversity and cover, increase water infiltration and carbon sequestration, and increase overall biodiversity. This ecological resilience can translate to economic resilience, as participating producers are able to use the Audubon certification logo on their product, providing market incentive to landowners to enroll in the program through increased sales or revenue. Thanks to the state’s investment, 70,000 acres across 17 properties are now in the process of enrolling in ACR and tracking habitat and climate benefits from their regenerative grazing efforts.
ACR Rancher Doniga Markegard commented, “Our family and our ranching operation are dedicated to finding ways to regenerate the land and our community through practices that rebuild soil, sequester carbon, capture and purify water, and enhance habitat for birds and wildlife. The ACR program allows us to do that, tracking environmental improvements and providing consumers with a way to use their purchasing power to support our work.”
Loren Poncia, a fourth‑generation rancher in Tomales, CA enrolled in the ACR program is adapting his operation during the pandemic. “We are trying to grow as much biomass as possible to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere because it’s better for the land, the birds, and the people. Through this COVID experience people are voting with their dollars by connecting to local producers that are making a difference for climate.”