Western Working Lands for Wildlife hosted their 10th annual workshop in Manhattan Wednesday and Thursday, addressing their innovative ways of conserving America’s grasslands.
WLFW National Coordinator Tim Griffiths explained more about the organization’s mission.
This is the first year WLFW’s workshop was held in the great plains rather than the sagebrush landscape. WLFW Science Advisor and University of Montana Wildlife Biology Professor David Naugle explained more about the threats now facing grasslands.
Griffiths said their approach to conservation shifts its focus from the more traditional public land conservation.
Naugle said the goal of this framework extends beyond maintaining agriculture or food production.
Since adopting this model back in 2010, over 8,400 producers have partnered up under WLFW and conserved nearly 12 million acres of wildlife habitat, an area over five times the size of Yellowstone National Park.
The two-day workshop featured presentations and panels from conservationists, land owners, specialists and more.
Griffiths noted hundreds from across the western part of the country attended this year’s event.
More information about WLFW can be found here.
