The New Ranch Handbook: A Guide to Restoring Western Rangelands

What began as a grassroots collaboration among a small number of ranchers and conservationists working to resolve rangeland problems has grown into an active faction of innovative (or visionary) ranchers called “”New Ranchers.”” In The New Ranch Handbook, author Nathan F. Sayre demonstrates how livestock ranching and conservation values can be compatible and ranchers and environmentalists can work together to benefit rangelands. On New Ranches in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and elsewhere, livestock has been managed in progressive ways and the land has responded: vegetation is more diverse and productive, soils are more stable, streams and springs have come back to life. Wildlife, watersheds, livestock, and ranchers have all benefited. The New Ranch Handbook situates the practices of these ranches in relation to recent models and knowledge in range science and ecology. The six New Ranches profiled here demonstrate that this can be done economically and with far-reaching benefits to land, people, and wildlife. The New Ranch Handbook is essential reading for ranchers, agency officials, environmentalists, conservationists, biologists, rangeland managers, and anyone interested in sustainable agriculture.