Loss of Grasslands Alarming

More than 300 ranchers, tribal members, conservationists, researchers, and federal and state agency officials gathered in Cheyenne recently to find ways to safeguard and restore the nation's grasslands. Aviva Glaser with the National Wildlife Federation says grasslands are critical for rural economies and wildlife. However, in just the past few decades, millions of acres have been severely degraded or lost altogether.

“There's conversion to cropland or development. Some studies have shown that the loss of grasslands has actually been even faster than the loss of Amazon rainforest”

Participants in the Sixth Americans Grassland Conference also work to advance the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, which is legislation that would offer protections similar to those already in effect for the nation's wetlands. Glaser says it's also important to protect climate-smart agriculture funding in the Inflation Reduction Act, which could be at risk in the upcoming Farm Bill.

“Twenty billion- that should be going to farmers and ranchers making sure that that funding gets protected and actually goes on the ground to those farmers and ranchers to help them implement those practices.”

The root system of grasslands absorb greenhouse gases creating vast carbon sinks that keep climate pollution out of the atmosphere. Glacier says one of the biggest challenges for conserving and restoring grasslands is helping the American public understand the value of this frequently overlooked resource and what it means to their local community.