Towards place-based borderlands grassland conservation (Hacia la conservacion de pastizales en tierras fronterizas)

Abstract

When European explorers first observed the vast grasslands of the American continent, they viewed a series of interconnected, intact grassland ecosystems flourishing with an enormous diversity of flora and an abundance of wildlife. The term "sea of grass" appears frequently in descriptions of the vast prairie grasslands that extended from Canada to central Mexico. Many writers stated that the variety of wildlife species and their numbers "staggered the imagination." Relying on the thriving grasslands, the plains teemed with bison, pronghorn, deer, bighorn sheep, badgers, fox, prairie dogs, wolves and grizzlies, eagles, hawks, a vast array of grassland birds, such as prairie chickens and burrowing owls, as well as the ubiquitous grasshopper.

Parent Publication

• Grasslands ecosystems, endangered species, and sustainable ranching in the Mexico-U.S. borderlands: Conference proceedings

Citation

Hadley, Diana; Basurto, Xavier. 2006. Towards place-based borderlands grassland conservation (Hacia la conservacion de pastizales en tierras fronterizas). In: Basurto, Xavier; Hadley, Diana, eds. 2006. Grasslands ecosystems, endangered species, and sustainable ranching in the Mexico-U.S. borderlands: Conference proceedings. RMRS-P-40. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 3-6