Ca Cattle Gr e Grazing t to M o Manage Na e Native Pr e - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Ca Cattle Gr e Grazing t to M o Manage Na e Native Pr e Prairies es in the T in the Tuala ualatin B tin Basin asin Ruby Buchholtz, Tualatin Riverkeepers Nicole Ruggiero, Ash Creek Forest Management

Ecological Context- Native Prairies • Prairies are now a rare habitat • Early successional habitat and are maintained through disturbance (fire) • Hotter, drier summers • Without disturbance: • Woody encroachment • Invasive species • Over-dominance by grass (decrease in diversity)

Geographic context • Washington Co. rapidly growing: rural-urban interface • Loss of ag land • Native prairie conservation sites: • Hutchinson WRP • Tualatin River NWR • Metro sites • CWS sites • Private mitigation

The Solution • Climate adapted • Low cost • Multiple benefits • Ecological • Social • Economic

Evidence of ecological benefits • Increased plant vigor and density • Sustainable, diverse plant communities • Reduction in invasive species

Attribute Butler 2016-2017 Hutchinson 2017 Objective Dominant soil McBee silty clay McBee silty clay loam loam/ Wapato silty To improve plant diversity by clay loam/ Chehalis using cattle grazing as a silty clay loam disturbance. Dominant Tufted hairgrass / Red fescue (non- grasses California oatgrass native) Methods Acres grazed 20 58 Grazing plan 1 pasture. 8 pastures. Cows had • 2 cattle operators layout Continuous grazing access to one large pasture continuously • Sites, agreements, with new pastures logistics rotated weekly. Stocking rate 1.67 acres/cow 2.23 acres/pair • Different timing and Timing Late May- June June-July (8 weeks) stocking (5 weeks) November (2 weeks) • Monitoring September (2 weeks) Herd 12, 2-year olds 26 cow/calf pairs composition

Percent cover Height

Results

Change in Percent Cover During the Grazing Period Site Year % Native % Non- % Native % Non- % Bare % Thatch/ Grass native Forbs native Ground Litter Grass Forbs Butler 2016 Butler 2017 Hutchinson 2017

Hundreds of pounds of seed planted Over 35 species of flowers, rushes, and sedges added to grazed prairies Species such as: Common camas Slender cinquefoil Meadow checkermallow Western buttercup Blue-eyed grass Willow dock Western yarrow Slender rush Oregon sunshine

Change in Percent Cover Between 2 Years (before grazing) Site Year % Native % Non- % Native % Non- % Bare % Thatch/ Grass native Forbs native Ground Litter Grass Forbs Butler May 81% 0% 13% 0% 3% 2% 2016 Butler May 63% 0% 18% 5% 16% 2% 2017 Change

Lessons Learned Timing- earlier Stocking rate- higher Planning • Time • Inclusion