How Grazing Livestock are Beneficial to Vernal Pools

On a global scale, rangelands are a fairly diverse array of biomes - deserts, scrub, prairies, and chaparral, but in Sonoma County, they comprise oak savannahs and grasslands; one such is our vernal pools. Vernal pools are defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency as “…seasonal depression wetlands that occur under the Mediterranean climate conditions”. They are a rare and interesting sight to see in the spring after they have filled up with water. Especially this...

Livestock Grazing at Point Reyes National Seashore

The Santa Rosa Junior College Range Management class toured Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) to learn about the park history, livestock grazing, and issues surrounding public land management. The class met with Range Management Specialist, Dylan Voeller, Rich Grossi, a 4th generation rancher, and Rich Grossi's granddaughters, 6th generation.  The class learned about the direct link between urban consumers and local food producers, providing a powerful conduit for educating the...

Grazing at Pepperwood Preserve

The Santa Rosa Junior College Range Management class visited Pepperwood Preserve to learn about the livestock grazing program and their range management plan's goals.  Pepperwood Preserve is a 3,120-acre nature preserve in northeast Sonoma County owned and operated by the non-profit Pepperwood Foundation. The preserve is a mosaic of grasslands, oak woodlands, Douglas-fir forests and chaparral. The annual rainfall averages 34 inches and almost entirely comes between October and May. The...

Ecosystem Services Interpretative Signage

The University of California Cooperative Extension recognized rangelands and their importance in Sonoma County, creating the “Ecosystem Services Interpretative Signage” to increase awareness and knowledge of park visitors, mangers and decisions makers of working rangelands and the ecosystem services. Rangelands are also referred to as working landscapes, are locally managed and provide essential biological, scenic, economic, and recreational values locally and throughout the world....

Point Reyes - Grazing, Elks and Cattle

As the instructor for the Santa Rosa Junior College Range Class, I give students an education about using livestock grazing as a tool in Sonoma County to manage resources; especially in our regional and state parks. I took my class to Point Reyes National Seashore to experience rangelands and the use of grazing. The following blog post was written by student Nicko Wilde. In Point Reyes, myself along with the Range Management Class at...

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