The Kiowa National Grasslands Integrated Resource Management Program

Location:

New Mexico

What challenges were faced and how were they overcome?

According to one rancher involved in the program, the hardest thing for him to do was to alter his way of thinking about ranching. His family had been using the same techniques for five generations and to consider managing the resource in a fundamentally different way was both challenging and threatening. Although there was certainly an element of risk involved, this major barrier was mitigated by developing a person-to-person trust between the agency workers and the ranchers. Quite often, Forest Service and Soil Conservation Service staff travel out to local ranches to discuss a rancher's concerns, problems and suggesting one-on-one. This personal touch has helped engender trust between permittees and the agencies, opening the channels of communication enough so that conversations about alternate techniques could take place and, ultimately, thrive. According to Bryant, a belief that the agencies were "caring for the land and serving the people" had to be fostered before any discussion of ranching philosophy and technique could occur.

At times, the initial up-front financial investment can be a problem. Time-controlled grazing requires water to be available in each individual paddock. Frequently water must be pumped from a single deep source long distances away. Not every rancher has access to the capital required to devise this system. The Forest Service has helped finance some of the work through the Challenge Cost-Share program and has helped to arrange loans from the Farmers' Home Administration.

This site was developed by the Ecosystem Management Initiative through a partnership with the US Forest Service and the US Department of Interior. Read more.