A hundred ways to sustain grasslands and ranchers now at your fingertips: new online tool corrals best practices from across North America

Montreal, 7 May 2014—A new online tool is being launched today with nearly 100 beneficial management practices aimed at ranchers, conservation organizations, government and academic institutions in North America. Ranging from local techniques to national and continental approaches, the tool contains a wealth of practical and innovative ideas for conserving and restoring native grasslands and boosting the economic stability of ranchers. To access the tool, visit: www.cec.org/grasslands.

North America’s grasslands—and the species that inhabit them—are coming under increasing pressure from climate change, residential development, oil and gas extraction, and the expansion of cash crop production. As one of the most sustainable forms of agriculture, ranching has the potential to conserve remaining native grasslands, restore degraded landscapes, and reverse the loss of North America’s most threatened terrestrial ecoregion.

With the online tool, ranching and stewardship best practices can be searched geographically or thematically according to eight management categories, such as Grazing Management, Water Resource Management andInvasive Species and Pest Management. The tool also contains a “Featured Stories” section, with inspiring examples of ranchers across the continent who are using these techniques to conserve grasslands and improve their economic bottom line. In the tool’s “Overarching Practices” section, high-level guidance is offered to assist ranchers, conservationists, and policy makers in making sound management decisions that achieve both economic and conservation objectives. Available in English, French and Spanish, the tool also features aglossary of terms and a resources section.

“The online tool contains cutting-edge grasslands conservation and management practices and captures the technical knowledge gained over generations by ranchers across the continent,” said Karen Richardson, Program Manager for Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystems, Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). “We encourage users to send us additional publications and case studies to expand the online tool and make it a truly dynamic and continental product.”

The CEC would like as many North Americans as possible to have access to this tool, so please feel free to embed it or link to www.nagrasslands.org on your personal or institutional website.

Take a tour of the website and learn how to use it by watching this short tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZzV7244ojk

North American Grasslands

For over a decade, the CEC has supported grasslands conservation and beneficial management practices across North America. The CEC’s current project, Catalyzing North American Grasslands Conservation and Sustainable Use Through Partnerships, is a joint project of Environment Canada, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio), andComisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (Conanp), supported by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). It encourages sustainable ranching practices and grassland stewardship to maintain and enhance the resilience of this continentally-shared ecosystem, and the CEC is working closely with ranchers to pilot these practices across North America. For more information, please visit www.cec.org/grasslands.

About the CEC

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an intergovernmental organization that supports the cooperative environmental agenda of Canada, Mexico and the United States to green North America’s economy, address climate change by promoting a low-carbon economy, and protect its environment and the health of its citizens. The CEC is composed of three bodies: a Council, representing the governments of the three member countries, a Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) that advises the Council and serves as a liaison with the public, and a Secretariat that supports the Council and JPAC and prepares independent reports. The CEC brings together governments, civil society, and businesses to develop innovative North American solutions to global environmental challenges. Find out more at: www.cec.org.

CEC initiatives are undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment, the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Government of the United States of Mexico, through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.