FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Sacramento, Calif., March 10, 2023)Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) today introduced a bill that would offer financial incentives and technical assistance to ranchers and other private landowners to implement practices that restore grassland habitat, soil health and biodiversity on some of Californias most endangered and sensitive landscapes. Assembly Bill (AB) 720 would authorize the Wildlife Conservation Board to fund local programs to contract with ranchers on lands deemed especially important to preserving grassland birds and other wildlife.
Im proud to author Assembly Bill 720 to support sustainable grazing in California, Addis said. With 61 million acres of rangeland across California, its crucial that we take these important steps to protect our agricultural biodiversity while bolstering Californias ranching economy for years to come.
The program would encourage regenerative agricultural practices similar to those promoted by 勛圖窪蹋s Conservation Ranching Program (ACR). The program partners with ranchers to adopt techniques including rotational grazing and riparian restoration. These practices increase the role of grasslands as an important carbon sink while providing habitat for imperiled grassland birds, whose numbers have declined by 50 percent over the past 100 years. In return, ranchers participating in ACR can brand their meat with 勛圖窪蹋s Grazed on bird-friendly land seal. Nationally, ACR has enrolled over 100 ranches covering 2.7 million acres of land, and 勛圖窪蹋 California is in the process of enrolling 21 properties. ACR-certified beef is available for sale nationwide online.
With most of Californias 61 million acres of rangelands in private hands, enlisting the help of ranchers and other private landowners is key to preserving habitat, sequestering carbon and maintaining the plants and animals that make our state a biodiversity hotspot, said Pelayo lvarez, California director of 勛圖窪蹋s Conservation Ranching Program. AB 720 is an opportunity to partner with private ranchers to help them manage their properties with birds and wildlife in mind and to act as stewards of the land they love.
According to one 勛圖窪蹋 study, tens of millions of migrating rely on ranchland and other open spaces of Californias Central Valley, including 60 percent of all Tree Swallows, 80 percent of Lawrences Goldfinches, and numerous other resident and migratory species. However, multiple studies show a steep decline in bird populations that depend on them, in California and beyond. The number of birds in North America has , likely due in large part to loss of suitable habitat. At the same time, 勛圖窪蹋 research shows that remaining birds face an uncertain future as the continent warms.
CONTACT:
Jason Howe, jason.howe@audubon.org; 415-595-9245
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