Virtual Fencing Technology Research Project in New Mexico

Nature Conservancy New Mexico Indigenous Partnership Program Director, John Woconda has been involved in coordinating Native American tribes with a virtual fencing project on 400. head of cattle for the past year in New Mexico.

“We've been planning this project with the Pueblo of Heinous which is a Native American community in north central- excuse me- West Central New Mexico. We've been planning this project for about a year it's very interesting and unique in that we're coloring cattle on communal grazing lands of the tribes. So it's it's a communal grazing area with several livestock owners who are tribal members have various numbers of their own cattle on the grazing units. And so we've been communicating talking to not only our tribal program manager but also livestock owners about the system, getting their support to participate in the demonstration project and then align the funding.”

Woconda defines virtual fencing as using technology to manage cattle using a transmitter and a collar with a receiver placed in it. The rancher then uses an app to map out an area to keep cattle confined or in some cases keep cattle out of.