Half of Americans Have Little to No Knowledge of Grasslands, the Country’s Largest Natural Habitat
A new survey finds that, after learning more, 68% of respondents now consider grasslands a critical ecosystem.
Southern High Plains
Southern High Plains
Map showing the Southern High Plains grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.
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TNC
One of the largest opportunities for grassland conservation in the United States.
At the intersection of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, we're working to protect 2 million acres of native grasslands within the 71-million-acre Southern High Plains—one of the world's least protected and most threatened ecosystems.
Stories from the Southern High Plains
Working Together
A conservation easement allows Steve and Joy Wooten, owners of Beatty Canyon Ranch in southeastern Colorado, to preserve their land for generations to come.
© Morgan Heim
How We Work
As part of the Southern High Plains Initiative, TNC is partnering with landowners, ranchers, Tribal communities, policymakers and other conservation organizations to ensure tangible, lasting outcomes for vulnerable grassland species and their habitat.
© Morgan Heim. Over half of all lesser prairie chickens in the world are found in western Kansas.
Protection
This opportunity to work together in the Southern High Plains comes at a key time in the history of land protection. The world is suffering massive ecosystem degradation, unprecedented wildlife declines and extinctions. This has spurred a large movement for land protection.
“There is palpable energy and momentum pointing toward a different future for grasslands, where we’re able to affect conservation at the scales we need,” says Brad Cory, director of TNC’s Southern High Plains Initiative.
Through protecting habitat, we can help the world’s species be more resilient to climate change and other human disturbances, such as pollution or agriculture. To have the greatest impact, we need to protect lands with a variety of habitat that supports wildlife now and into the future. TNC has developed a mapping tool to identify exactly those places in the U.S., called the Resilient Connected Network.
The Southern High Plains is a high priority within the Resilient Connected Network because of the opportunity for conserving large, connected landscapes that allow grassland species to move, adapt and thrive. The resilient areas in the Southern High Plains are less than 11% conserved today.
© Morgan Heim. Working with farmers and ranchers is critical to preserving the Southern High Plains.
Management
While each of the five states in the Southern High Plains faces its own challenges and opportunities, there are common themes that unite them. Across the region, land conservation is closely connected with local economic and community values.
In Kansas, around 80% of the state’s grasslands have been converted to some other use, mainly cropland. “What we’re focused on in this landscape is that 20% that’s left,” says Matt Bain, conservation program manager for TNC in Kansas. “That 20% fuels a multi-billion-dollar beef industry in Kansas and is critically important to ranching economies. It's the ranchers who are taking care of what’s left of the last wild places in Kansas. You can’t conserve that 20% without partnership with ranchers.”
People who work on the land have strong connections to it and are essential for any successful conservation strategy.
"In predominantly farming and ranching communities, people generally have deep ties to the land. They make their living off of it, but they also appreciate it, and it’s in their interest to conserve it,” says Dan Snodgrass, director of land protection and stewardship for TNC in Texas.
Partnerships are what will power this initiative to reach its ambitious goals. By working closely with local communities, conservation and agricultural partners and others who know and depend on the land, we can support projects already happening on the ground and link them together as part of a broader vision.
SHPI Ranch
A conservation easement allows Steve and Joy Wooten, owners of Beatty Canyon Ranch in southeastern Colorado, to preserve their land for generations to come.
©
Morgan Heim
Fragile Frontier
A recent story in Nature Conservancy magazine features the people and places of the Southern High Plains., one of North America’s most intact grasslands.
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JE Canyon Ranch: In 2015, TNC protected this 50,000-acre ranch in southeast Colorado. © John Fielder/TNC
Safeguarding Species: TNC is working to provide habitat for endangered black-footed ferrets. © Bob Gress
Blooming Biodiversity: A diverse array of cacti blooms at JE Canyon Ranch in Colorado. © Audrey Wolk/TNC
Barber Pole Grasshopper: This colorful grasshopper is an example of the unexpected diversity of life you may encounter in the Southern High Plains. © Gustavo Lozada/TNC
Home on the Ranch: Smoky Valley Ranch is home to a satellite herd of bison with unique genetics originating from Wind Cave National Park. © Justin Roemer/TNC
Grouse of the Grasslands: The lesser prairie chicken is endemic to the southern and central high plains of the United States. © Justin Roemer/TNC
Recreation Destination: Bartlett Mesa Ranch was recently acquired by TNC and will provide additional recreational opportunities in New Mexico. © Brad Cory/TNC
Connecting the Landscape: This conservation easement in Hamilton County, Kansas is helping protect the prairies of the Southern High Plains. © Jim Griggs
Steering the Economy: Cattle ranching is the cornerstone of the Southern High Plains economy. © Lauryn Wachs/TNC
A River Runs Through: The Canadian River flows through Four Canyon Preserve in Oklahoma. © Chris Hise/TNC
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Protecting Land and Water
Southern High Plains Initiative.
©
Morgan Heim