The quality and quantity of water available in America is directly correlated to the condition of the land.
The land, when covered with diverse vegetation, also serves as a sponge, slowing rain as it hits the land, funneling it into aquifers below or filtering it as it runs into streams, rivers and lakes. Well-managed riparian areas, where the land meets the water, are crucial interfaces between the land and the water.
Land condition affects saltwater as surely as it affects fresh water. Rivers flow to the sea. The estuaries, some of the world’s most productive and important ecosystems, occur where fresh water meets saline water. Their long-term health is only as good as the fresh water flowing into them.
Read more about water management practices:
Beavers Are Heat Wave Heroes
As explained below, beaver dams help cool the water — and the air. They also reduce wildfires.
At Pitchstone Waters Ranch in Idaho, 5-miles southwest of Yellowstone Park, we use goats and cattle to reduce brush, control “weeds” and forbs, reduce wildfire and stimulate plant growth on forest floors and meadows.
“Yellowstone National Park may be best known for Old Faithful geyser and other unique geothermal features, but it’s also home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. Learn about wolves, elk, […]
As discussed in the compelling article published below, “Wild horses that are restored back into their evolutionary roles as keystone herbivores naturally protect forests, wildlife, watersheds and wilderness ecosystems, which benefit through symbiotic grazing by […]
Restoration of Beaver in Arizona’s San Pedro River
Beavers are a keystone species in desert ecosystems. See how beaver restoration is healing a degraded Arizona river and its Mexican tributaries. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on May 28, […]
Rangeland Restoration: Subsoil Contour Plowing at Circle Ranch, in far-West Texas
Subsoil contour plowing is an excellent way to increase water absorption in the desert grasslands of far-West Texas and Southern New Mexico. The effectiveness of the practice is shown in these before-and-after comparisons.
Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #12: Chupacabra Dam
Another example of a small dam that spills water from an eroded gulley, to reduce road washing and to irrigate a few acres of grassland at Circle Ranch in the high-desert mountains of far-West Texas. […]
Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #9: Harvesting Water in Steep Canyons
Restoring the Southwest’s desert grasslands takes water. Most ranches treat eroding gulleys and roads – and their stormwater runoffs – as liabilities. In fact these are potential water assets on every ranch. This little diversion […]
For the past 3 years, Cascade Forest Conservancy has been engaged in a large-scale beaver reintroduction project in Washington’s South Cascades. In 2019 we reintroduced 21 beavers and there are many more […]
Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #4: Los Cuates Canyon at Circle Ranch
Gulleys for Grassland Restoration #4: Los Cuates Canyon discusses specific gulley problems and treatments in a mountain canyon at Circle Ranch in far-West Texas. It is one of a series that demonstrates how to remedy […]
“Drought Busters” is an inexpensive, quick, physiologically and economically sustainable method of habitat and wildlife restoration. We call it Drought Busters because it increases effective rainfall by rebuilding soil fertility and the soil’s ability to […]
Eroded galleys can be used to restore desertifying grasslands – alongside creosote bush – without chemicals. Third in a series filmed at Circle Ranch in far-West Texas. NOTE: this post was originally published to this […]
This 18-minute video explains how we use P.A. Yeomans’ Keyline concepts to improve water function at our family’s 32,000-acre Circle Ranch in the Chihuahuan high-desert grasslands of far-West Texas. The Keyline explanation is followed by […]