Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Lands

Audubon Conservation Ranching aims to stabilize declining grassland bird populations in partnership with farmers and ranchers.

Why farmers and ranchers? The majority of grassland birds – whose populations have declined by more than 50 percent in the last 50 years – inhabit privately owned land. This is where we scale our impact.

Landowners voluntarily enroll in our program, and when they meet requirements centering on habitat management, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, they earn the Audubon bird-friendly land certification. Nationwide, more than 100 ranches and nearly 3 million acres that have earned status as Audubon Certified bird-friendly land.

Consumers with an appetite for conservation support these bird-friendly habitats. A special package designation – the Audubon Certified bird-friendly seal – lets shoppers know which beef or bison products come from these lands managed for birds and biodiversity.

Grassland Birds in Wisconsin

According to the most recent State of the Birds report, grassland birds have suffered the sharpest population declines of any terrestrial biome since 1970. In Wisconsin, Henslow’s Sparrow and Upland Sandpiper are listed as State Threatened due to population decreases, and a host of other grassland species including Bobolink, Dickcissel, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Eastern and Western Meadowlark are Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Additionally, small remnant populations of Sharp-tailed Grouse in northwestern Wisconsin and State Threatened Greater Prairie-Chicken in Central Wisconsin continue to decrease with their last remaining populations in significant jeopardy in the state.

The primary reasons for grassland bird troubles include habitat loss and degradation, tree and shrub encroachment, and pesticide applications, all things that are countered in the Audubon Conservation Ranching program that requires active grassland habitat management and restricts chemical use.

How Farmers & Ranchers Help Habitat

To earn the Audubon bird-friendly land certification, landowners must meet all program requirements in the areas of management, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare.  

The Audubon bird-friendly certification centers on rotational grazing. Cattle can be central to creating the varied habitat grassland bird species need, and rotational grazing is one of the means to making a desirable habitat mosaic.

Rotational grazing, biologically based on how bison and other grazing animals once roamed prairie and grassland ecosystems, is strategic, designed to create layers of short, mid, and tall grasses and flowers for a variety of bird species and other wildlife. In Wisconsin, for example, Grasshopper Sparrows need a thinner grassland with little or no residual vegetation, Henslow’s Sparrows need a thicker grassland with a year or two of residual vegetation, and Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks prefer habitats in between.

If you’re interested in enrolling your Wisconsin farm or ranch in the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, please visit our Audubon Producer Brochure to get more information or contact: Ashly Steinke, Grassland Ecologist

Consumers to Conservationists

Incentivizing the habitat work for birds and biodiversity on Audubon Certified bird-friendly lands are consumers with an appetite for conservation, who support it by purchasing products grazed on these lands. Shoppers see a special package designation – the Audubon Certified bird-friendly seal – that sets these products apart.

Contact Us

For more information about the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in Wisconsin, please contact: Tom Prestby, Wisconsin Conservation Manager

If you would like information about the program for a different state, reach out to ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.