Sustainable Ranching

Grassland Stewardship and Sustainable Ranching

rancher moving cattle Grassland stewardship is a set of strategies and practices that must be implemented to ensure the long-term health and integrity of the grassland landscape. Stewardship implies understanding, caring for, and maintaining a wide range of values, including those related to grazing. Stewardship is consistent with sustainable use - it does not mean preservation or protection from human use.

Sustainable ranching involves domestic animal grazing practices that maintain and enhance the economic and social viability of a ranching operation, while maintaining the ecological integrity of the grassland landscape on which these operations depend.

The goals of the GSSR program are to:

Maintain and restore grasslands;
Improve society’s understanding and appreciation of the importance and sensitivity of grassland ecosystems; and
Keep working ranches working by encouraging stewardship activities, information exchange and partnerships and supporting ranching culture and practices that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable.

The objectives of the GSSR program are to:

Foster stewardship of grasslands through information gathering, extension and partnerships that build trust and lead to the development and implementation of grassland stewardship projects and initiatives.

Identify opportunities and priority locations for the implementation of stewardship initiatives.

Facilitate the development of appropriate policies and programs that will lead to improved grassland stewardship and sustainable ranching
Develop tools and implement strategies to inform and limit subdivision and development, fragmentation and conversion of grasslands.
Encourage inclusive, informed and ecologically based community planning that maintains a viable ranching industry and that helps protect the ecological integrity of BC’s grasslands.
Strengthen and build partnerships with ranchers and First Nations and share information that will support the sustainable uses of grasslands including grazing.

The GCC is dedicated to and fully engaged in projects and campaigns that support both stewardship and sustainable ranching programs such as the:

In the past, this program area has also included:

The Hamilton Commonage Project

There are several other components to this program area including:

Sensitive Ecosystems and Model Bylaw Toolkit
Collaboration with the Agricultural Land Commission
Grassland Stewardship and Securement Committee

Planning for Change Initiative

The Planning for Change: Preventing the Fragmentation and Development of BC's Grasslands Initiative is the culmination of a number of different projects and ideas that the GCC has been involved in throughout its existence. The project began when a series of workshops were held in 2005 to determine the best way to implement the priorities that had previously been identified in the GCC's Strategic Plan.

The top priorities that were identified in the workshops included working more closely with government to encourage awareness of grassland values and threats, providing tools and information for land use planning and build strong, and building collaborative relationships with local, regional, provincial, federal and First Nations’ governments evolved into the Planning for Change Initiative.

As part of the Planning for Change initiative, the GCC has created a portable planning workshop that incorporates the data and mapping gathered by another of the GCC's programs, the Priority Grasslands Initiative, with planning tools and information. The workshop presents planners with compelling solutions to development problems in sensitive grassland areas and builds awareness on the value of grasslands as both an ecological and a sociological resource. Two workshops have been held: one in the North Okanagan and another in the Thompson/Nicola to great success. Two more are planned: South Okanagan in November 2007 and East Kootenays in winter 2008.

The GCC is also working closely with the Agriculture Land Commission (ALC) to discuss the issue of conservation covenants and the importance of protecting grasslands as a forage base for BC’s ranching industry.


To learn more about Planning for Change Click here	Planning for Change Annual Report 2006/7 Click here

Grassland Monitoring Manual for BC : A Tool for Ranchers

The Grassland Monitoring Manual was developed in partnership with the ranching communities of British Columbia in 2004. The project's primary purpose is to create a Grassland Monitoring Manual to aid ranchers in assessing the condition and trend of their grassland ranges. There is currently no universal technique in use in BC and many ranchers consider accepted practices to be cumbersome, overly complicated and unecessarily time-consuming.

From a grassland stewardship perspective, the lack of a standardized, qualitative assessment tool in the province is worrisome. In cooperation with technical advisory committees and Solterra Resources Inc., the GCC developed prototype manuals for the grasslands of the province and tested them with working ranchers.

The prototypes are currently being revised and will be available for distribution within two years.


Grassland Monitoring Manual for BC: A Tool for Ranchers Download PDF	To learn more about the Grassland Monitoring Manual, click here

Mitigating Fragmentation and Development of BC's Grasslands:
Problem Analysis and Strategic Plan

The objective of the Mitigating Fragmentation and Development of BC's Grasslands is twofold. The first goal of the project is to bring definition and clarity to the issues that surround fragmentation and development; the second is to provide strategic direction and clear recommendations to government and non-government organizations that can help reduce future loss and fragmentation in grassland regions.

The project began after a strong call for action regarding the unprecedented rates of loss in the grasslands was sounded by numerous individuals and organizations across the province. The GCC undertook a provincial analysis to determine how fragmentation could be slowed and regulated in BC's grasslands. The subsequent report included a problems and solution analysis and a strategic plan, which outlines six priorities for mitigating fragmentation and development. The report provides a clear direction for the GCC and its partners in coming year, and requires collaboration from a wide range of interests and organizations.


Mitigating the Fragmentation and Development of BC's Grasslands: Problem Analysis and Strategic Plan Download PDF	To learn more about this project, click here.

The Coalition for Licensing and Registration of Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) is a broad-based alliance of motorized recreation interests: conservation organizations, industry and government industries. It has a very clear mandate: to achieve provincial licensing and registration of ORVs that includes a management strategy for ORVs in British Columbia.

The coalition has been working collaboratively on these issues since 2002. In 2006, it released its recommendations, Solutions for a Sustainable Future: Final Recommendations for Registration, Licensing and Management of Off-Road Vehicles in BC, to the provincial government for consideration as the foundation of ORV legislation in BC. The coalition is hoping for new legislation in spring 2008.


ORV Coalition BC Website	Solutions for a Sustainable Future Download PDF version	To learn more about the history of the ORV Coalition and the GCC, click here.

Best Management Practices Pocketbook

The Best Management Practices for Motorized Recreation Pocketbook was created in 2005. The GCC worked with various recreation groups and experts to create the educational and practical pocketbooks designed to inform users of motorized vehicles how to ride in the grasslands without doing major ecological damage. The books are small enough to fit in the pocket of a riding jacket and use colourful illustrations and clear directions to help riders enjoy their sport in a sustainable way.

The pocketbooks are available in PDF form and are distributed at conferences and seminars across the province.


Best Management Practices Pocketbook Download PDF	To learn more about the history of the GCC and the BMP, click here

Hamilton Commonage Monitoring Project

The Hamilton Commonage Monitoring Project began in 1998 when a dedicated group of environmental organizations, government agencies, ranchers and professional volunteers formed a coalition to develop a management strategy that would maintain and enhance biological diversity on the Hamilton Commonage.

The project was an ambitious and multi-faceted approach to stewardship in action and it has set an important precedent for both the GCC and for the province as a whole.


To learn about the Hamilton Commonage Monitoring Project, click here	To read about the history of the project, click here.

Sensitive Ecosystems and Model Bylaws Toolkit

The GCC, in collaboration with Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Wetland Stewardship Partnership, has created the Sensitive Ecosystems and Model Bylaws Toolkit, a compendium of existing bylaws and planning tools that can applied when planning around grasslands, wetlands and other sensitive ecosystems. This well designed and convenient Toolkit promises to be a valuable asset to all communities with grasslands within and adjacent to their boundaries.

Originally released in draft form in 2005, the Toolkit has undergone an overhaul by Deborah Curran, environmental lawyer, with input from various municipal and regional planners in an effort to make it as effective as possible. It will be provided electronically and in hard copy form to local governments late fall 2007, and workshops will be put on by the partners in high priority areas to ensure this toolkit is utilized to the best of its ability.