Upper Stony Creek Watershed Restoration

Location:

California (within Mendocino
National Forest)

What challenges were faced and how were they overcome?

The first major challenge Gilgert identified was obtaining the trust of ranchers. He notes that it is difficult asking people to change and adopt new ways of doing things. To overcome this obstacle, NRCS staff sought to involve key landowners who were willing to build trust and try new things. The projects of these landowners were then used as demonstration models to gain credibility among other members of the ranching community. Another challenge has been finding ways to encourage new landowners to be active members of the project. As Nay explained, “The biggest challenge is the turnover of land ownership…What we don’t have a handle on is the fact that we can’t force the new land owner or grazer into a new, prescribed grazing plan. They may have agreed to put in the fences, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be as aggressive in their grazing plan as the prior owner or manager had been.” Another major hurdle that Gilgert identified that is more difficult to overcome is a lack of staff to go into the field. The local NRCS office has three field staff to cover an area totaling four million acres. Gilgert noted that his small staff “simply cannot provide the level of service that is needed…there’s just not enough of us.”

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.