Management Plan - Pitchstone Waters

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Management Plan

A collection of 61 posts

Restoring Sonoran Desert Grasslands with Cattle

"Invasion Biology"

Restoring Sonoran Desert Grasslands with Cattle

The Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation works to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the US/Mexican borderlands through land protection, habitat restoration and wildlife reintroduction.

Keyline 101: Desert Grassland Restoration

Yeomans Keyline

Keyline 101: Desert Grassland Restoration

This video was filmed in the Sierra Diablo Mountains, Hudspeth County, far-West Texas, for presentation at the Quivira Coalition Conference in Albuquerque, November 11, 2015.

"Invasion Biology"

Wildlife in the High-Desert Mountains of Far-West Texas

Desert Mountain Wildlife #3 – part of a series on wildlife pictures

Grazing to Promote Riparian Health on a Private Ranch in Nevada

"Invasion Biology"

Grazing to Promote Riparian Health on a Private Ranch in Nevada

This video features Agee Smith, Co-Owner, Cottonwood Ranch, Wells, Nevada

Holistic Management at Work

"Invasion Biology"

Holistic Management at Work

Holistic management uses a long term planning process that assigns to environmental and social outcomes the same importance as profits. In addition to being particularly suited to the deserts of far-West Texas, its grazing and wildlife practices will work anywhere in the West. NOTE: this post was originally published to

The Story of Meat

"Invasion Biology"

The Story of Meat

Public demand for healthy, tasty food produced in a manner that respects nature is the driving force behind the growing acceptance of holistic agriculture. This 20-minute video discusses how sustainably managed livestock can help restore damaged ranch and farm lands. NOTE: this post was originally published on April 26, 2017,

Miracle in the Nevada Desert

"Invasion Biology"

Miracle in the Nevada Desert

Beaver and cattle are symbiotic. Together they can turn desert into wetlands. NOTE: this post was originally published on April 19, 2017, and then reposted on September 9, 2021

Farming Sustainably with Regenerative Agriculture | Restoring Paradise

Farming Sustainably with Regenerative Agriculture | Restoring Paradise

Regenerative agriculture offers a future for sustainable farming of meat in line with nature’s needs, by using holistic management and organic/biodynamic practices and even sequestering carbon in the soil – so important in our response to our climate crisis. At Mangarara, in New Zealand’s beautiful Hawke’s Bay,

This is a picture of two deer who have contacted Chronic Wasting Disease. They appear sick.

Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic Wasting Disease Ends Decades of Kerr Deer Research

“For six decades, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has known facilities like those in the article below foster the spread of CWD. CWD was created in a Colorado experiment station at Ft. Collins in the 1960s. Infected animals were unwittingly sent to other confinement locations from which they

circle_ranch_drough_busters

"Invasion Biology"

Drought Busters 101 : A 21-Minute Video on Desert Grassland Restoration

“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 absorb and store water. This 21-minute video explains Drought Busters, and our experience on

circle_ranch_drough_busters

"Invasion Biology"

Drought Busters: Restoring Desertified Desert Grasslands

We call the combination of wild animals, planned grazing, water harvesting, and Keyline subsoiling “Drought Busters”. Drought Busters is cheap, fast, poisons no plants, kills no animals, and increases the numbers and diversity of both. Drought Busters can’t make it rain, but it will make actual rain more and

The Function of Time in Environmental Recovery

The Function of Time in Environmental Recovery

Understanding the grass and grazer relationship NOTE: this article was originally published to ACHMonline.org A deep dive into a Holistic Management key insight Understanding how TIME affects overgrazing (environmental damage), rather than animal numbers is one of the Four Key Insights that Allan Savory describes in Holistic Management, A

Why This Cattle Farmer Moves His Cows Every Day

Why This Cattle Farmer Moves His Cows Every Day

Methane emissions from cattle contribute to climate change – but Will Harris says he has a solution. NOTE: this video was originally published to BBC.com on December 10, 2019. Video filmed and edited by Hannah Long-Higgins; produced by Haley Thomas. We initially posted this to our site on April 6,

Is The Way Cattle Are Grazed The Key to Saving America’s pPrairies?

Is the Way Cattle Are Grazed the Key to Saving America's Prairies?

“The article below gives another example of the application of holistic grazing concepts for the purpose of regenerating rangelands. NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on January 13, 2020. It was written by Karen Weintraub. An unlikely alliance of ranchers and conservationists is working to find the

green forest Brazil trees waterfall

Photographer And His Wife Plant 2 Million Trees In 20 Years To Restore A Destroyed Forest And Even The Animals Have Returned

Quoting the author of the article below, ” The project has inspired millions by giving a concrete example of positive ecological action and showing how quickly the environment can recover with the right attitudes.” NOTE: this article was originally published to BoredPanda.com in May, 2019. It was written by Ilona

big brown grizzly bear walking in grass hunting prey

Grizzly Bear Recovery and Management

Summary * The Greater Yellowstone ecosystem grizzly’s recovery is due to the collaboration of federal biologists, states, tribes, conservation groups, and landowners. * Congress should encourage these efforts to continue while preserving the flexibility states and tribes need to manage growing grizzly populations. * Unfortunately, H.R. 2532 could discourage further recovery

art_of_the_cattle_move_part_2

"Invasion Biology"

The Art Of The Cattle Move II: Grazing Plans

This beautiful video discusses the importance of the grazing plan in sustainable ranching. The authors explain, “The most important tool we use in management of the land is being able to control the amount of time that cattle graze a particular pasture. Too long in a pasture and the grass

art_of_the_cattle_move

"Invasion Biology"

The Art Of The Cattle Move Part I: The Philosophy

The authors of this beautifully-photographed video explain, “The core of Ranchlands’ ranching operations is rotational grazing. The majority of our time is spent preparing for, executing, and checking on the rotation of cattle through pastures in a migratory fashion. From stimulating new plant growth through grazing and returning nutrients to

"Invasion Biology"

This Man Wants You to Eat More Meat

“We’ve had about a hundred years of ‘range science.’ I hate that term because it’s not science, it’s range beliefs that assume scientific proportion. They come up with rotational grazing and other approaches on and on endlessly, and those have turned pastures into deserts.” … Allan Savory NOTE:

cattle_united_kingdom

Animal Development

The Case for a Carbon Tax on Beef

This article does a good job of summarizing the many environmental problems caused by Big Meat’s method of raising beef. However, the author mistakenly assumes that there is no other way to raise beef than in these artificial, energy-intensive, environmentally-destructive, cruel and unhealthy mega-feedlots. And the author seems to

Cattle-Fever-Tick-quarantine-road-sign-25

"Invasion Biology"

A Better Fight Against Cattle Fever Ticks

Planned grazing has been shown to significantly control fever ticks without medications when the recovery (rest) periods – the time between when a herd leaves a pasture and when it returns – exceeds 150 days. This is because the ticks’ life cycle cannot survive absence of host animals for that long. Decades

chris_gill_circle_ranch_texas

"Invasion Biology"

Rancher Takes an Unconventional Path to Restoring His Land

“Chris Gill, 72, together with his family own Circle Ranch in far-West Texas. He thinks of the desert habitat, its flora and fauna, as a single system.” NOTE: this article was initially posted to ReportingTexas.com on December 12, 2017. It was written by Austin Price, and all photography credits

greening_the_chiuaua_desert

"Invasion Biology"

Greening the Chihuahuan Desert

Chihuahuan ranchers are at the forefront of restorative grazing practices.

Wild Horses Wait on New Pastures

Animal Development

Wild Horses Wait on New Pastures

Viewed in hindsight, it turns out the good intentions of horse advocates have led to bad consequences for horses. The slaughter prohibition discourages horse ownership. The wild horse population explosion has caused a backlash in sentiment towards wild horses. And, Mexican slaughter yards are less humane than America’s. NOTE:

the_agriculture_of_hope

"Invasion Biology"

The Agriculture Of Hope: Climate Farmers Of North America

We can debate whether human impact contributes to climate change, but we cannot deny that human agricultural practices harm range and farm lands. These practices can be changed in ways that will restore the land, its profitability and conceivably, help the climate as well. NOTE: This post initially appeared on