Beef and Beyond: Paying for Ecosystem Services on Western US Rangelands

Goldstein, Joshua; Presnall, Carrie; López‐Hoffman, Laura; Nabhan, Gary Paul; Knight, Richard L.; Ruyle, George B.; Toombs, Theodore P.

doi:10.2111/1551-501x-33.5.4

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…For ranchers who are largely or exclusively dependent upon livestock, incorporating new revenue streams may be challenging, particularly if there are tradeoffs with the livestock operation (Goldstein et al 2011). Furthermore, the economics of the livestock business are highly dynamic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ranchers, as stewards of private rangelands, have conventionally derived ranch-related income largely from their livestock operations, rather than from conservation practices that produce a broader array of ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, water quality; Goldstein et al 2011). For ranchers who implement conservation practices, such practices may be a burden on a ranch's financial portfolio rather than a positive contribution (Didier and Brunson 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As noted earlier, PES represents a new incentive-based mechanism to reward landowners for providing ecosystem services that benefit the public at-large (Goldstein et al 2011). While PES is not widespread in rangeland systems (DutillyDiane 2007), pilot programs illustrate the approach.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Integrating Conservation and Financial Objectives on Private Rangelands in Northern Colorado: Rancher and Practitioner Perceptions

Gutwein

Goldstein

2013

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrating Conservation and Financial Objectives on Private Rangelands in Northern Colorado: Rancher and Practitioner Perceptions

Gutwein

Goldstein

2013

Rangeland Ecology & Management

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“…Changes in traditional water use to satisfy human development threatens remaining mesic systems and biodiversity conservation (Goldstein et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public lands and private waters: scarce mesic resources structure land tenure and sage‐grouse distributions

et al. 2016

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Water scarcity in semiarid environments provides a model system to evaluate the role of mesic resources in structuring the distribution and abundance of wildlife. We used remote sensing and point process analyses to evaluate spatio–temporal variability in limited mesic resources in relation to greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) distributions in Oregon, California, and northwest Nevada, USA, 1984–2011. We then link population distribution to changes in resource availability over time, space, and land tenure. Despite encompassing only 2.4% of landscape area, mesic sites influenced sage‐grouse breeding distributions as evidenced by significantly shorter lek to mesic resource distances in observed (5.3 km) vs. predicted (8.2 km) values. Population abundance increased with proximity to mesic sites. Lag effects evident in abundance and proximity trends of mesic resources suggest a level of drought tolerance that moderated climatic variability. Mesic abundance and proximity remained relatively stable during the study period in comparison to more dynamic climatic patterns. Drought effects were most pronounced during multiyear events as evidenced by the 1987–1992 period that decreased mesic abundance >25% and approximately doubled mean lek to mesic resource distances (4.8–8.3 km). In our study area, 75% of all mesic resources were in private ownership, where the predominant land use is livestock ranching. Results suggest a holistic conservation strategy inclusive of private and public lands is needed to ensure sage‐grouse habitat requisites are met throughout the life cycle of this landscape species.

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“…Such functional and intact rangeland ecosystems are linked to a diversity of ecosystem services (ES) benefiting people living in the western US (Havstad et al, 2007;Maczko et al, 2011;Teague et al, 2013), including the provisioning of recreational opportunities, food and fiber (via ranching), carbon sequestration, water security, and wildlife habitat (Havstad et al, 2007). However, pressure from changing demographics and demands (Maczko et al, 2011;Reeves et al, 2018) is creating strong financial incentives for the sale of privately owned rangelands for housing development and more intensive forms of agriculture (Huntsinger and Hopkinson, 1996;Goldstein et al, 2011;Maczko et al, 2011;Wetzel et al, 2012;Cameron et al, 2014). This transformation of rangeland ecosystems in the form of both fragmentation and conversion has a substantial impact on the vitality of rural economies, wildlife and bird habitat, recreational opportunities, and carbon storage, among other benefits (Resnik et al, 2006;Havstad et al, 2007;Maczko et al, 2011;Reeves et al, 2018).…”

Section: Threats To Ecosystem Service Provision On Private Rangelandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

Gordon¹,

Kowal²,

Khadka³

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Privately owned rangelands in the western US support many ecosystem services and are threatened by financial incentives favoring conversion to housing development and more intensive forms of agriculture. Recognizing this threat, the impact investment community has identified rangeland management as a potential investing strategy to produce financial returns while preserving or enhancing the ecosystem services provided by intact rangelands. This strategy is based primarily on the notion that a capital-intensive conversion from continuous to rotational grazing can financially sustain rangelands through a combination of increased productivity and potentially monetized ecosystem service flows. The potential for these gains is supported by compelling anecdotal evidence, yet a robust body of scientific literature based on rigorous field experiments has not supported those claims, nor produced transferrable estimates of the benefits provided by rotational grazing of livestock (particularly cattle in the western US). Therefore, to demonstrate investment viability and measure investment success, impact investors will likely need to address these well-documented disconnects through some combination of monitoring and process-based modeling. This study examines the extent to which existing modeling tools are up to this task, by assessing the ability of two process-based models to represent four specific rotational grazing benefits put forth by impact investors, using a ranch in northeastern Wyoming as a case study. Using the Soil Water Assessment Tool, we simulated high magnitude changes in the water balance from surface runoff to evapotranspiration, which may be a benefit or negative impact depending on context (Benefit 1). We simulated a decrease in soil water storage under rotational grazing, which directly contradicts the outcome assumed in investment literature (Benefit 2). Using the InVEST beta Rangeland Production Model (based on the Century ecosystem model), we simulated increased biomass productivity (Benefit 3) under rotational grazing, which enhanced animal performance under some management parameters but negatively impacted it in others (Benefit 4). We conclude that the impact investing community will likely find greater success through a shift to objective-oriented ranch management, rather than a specific focus on rotation, and will also need additional investment in science and monitoring to demonstrate benefits.

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Beef and Beyond: Paying for Ecosystem Services on Western US Rangelands

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

Integrating Conservation and Financial Objectives on Private Rangelands in Northern Colorado: Rancher and Practitioner Perceptions

Integrating Conservation and Financial Objectives on Private Rangelands in Northern Colorado: Rancher and Practitioner Perceptions

Public lands and private waters: scarce mesic resources structure land tenure and sage‐grouse distributions

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

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