Arizona

The Care of the Commons
The ecological condition of the Y Bar D Ranch in the Prescott National Forest, when acquired in 1991 by George and Sharon Yard, could most politely be described as “challenged.”
 

Lacking even a house, the retiring medical-doctor-and-nurse-team couple initially camped on the edge of the Upper Verde River that runs through the ranch.

The Yards were determined they could not only turn the land around, but would achieve this through a unique environmental change agent: the cow. Historically, the ranch had held as many as 10,000 cattle; the Forest Service placed the proper limit at 225 head. Unfortunately, the would-be pastures were covered with invasive knapweed; tamarisk was overpowering native riparian vegetation; streambeds had been trampled; and the irrigation system was in disrepair. Not everyone would have seen a cattle ranch as the solution.

But today the Y Bar D not only supports 225 cattle (temporarily reduced in number due to drought). It also supports healthy herds of deer and antelope, which enjoy the only water in a 10-mile radius, courtesy of the Yard Ranch. The Yards removed livestock from riparian pastures, rested pastures using rotational grazing, cross fenced the ranch, removed the tamarisk, planted willows, and added new wells and pipelines for both livestock and wildlife.

In this case, the care of the public land is coming from a couple and their cattle.

NRCS Quote: “In their EQIP contract...the Yards listed their goals…to reduce the potential of Russian knapweed spreading …to improve the rangeland of these pastures…to improve wildlife habitat of the area…to improve the watershed by reducing erosion off of their pastures…”--Tim Garcia, District Conservationist

Conservation At-A-Glance: 1) Fencing; 2) water facilities (lines and troughs); 3) prescribed grazing (rotational); 4) third-party monitoring; 5) pest management (weeds); 6) buffers (riparian plantings)

NRCS Program Participation: NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance, Environmental Quality Incentives Program

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