Every decision we make on land impacts wildlife. The Four Things for Wildlife series helps you think about how you can help wildlife wherever you find yourself! This page explores opportunities for doing right by wildlife in pastures!
1. Vary grazing to promote diversity.
Continuous grazing tends to create pastures that look uniform. Although that will benefit a small number of wildlife species that like that uniform structure, finding ways to promote diversity in the structure of the grass and forbs in any pasture is a way to ensure the most wildlife species can thrive there. The most common way to promote this structural vegetation diversity in a pasture system is through rotational grazing. Through periods of rest and recovery, the density, height, and composition of pastures can vary, and in doing so, provide the greatest variety of habitat for wildlife. For example, with sufficient return intervals, such as 30 or more days of rest, grassland birds can build nests and raise their young in the period the livestock are gone. Or, allowing more flowering plants to go to flower or seed through reduced grazing pressure can provide more resources for wildlife to eat. Beyond rotational grazing, other practices like short-duration high-intensity grazing or winter stockpiling can also be ways to promote diversity of vegetation structure in the pasture and thus promote the diversity of wildlife that are found there.
2. Protect natural water sources.
Natural water features, and especially those that flow through pastures like rivers and streams, can be excellent assets to provide reliable and fresh water for livestock. But these features should also be treated with care to make sure the water leaving the pasture is as clean as it was when it arrived. The two greatest risks with natural water features in pastures is that livestock can degrade them by eroding the banks or by polluting them with manure. Such degradation and pollution can hurt wildlife found on the pasture itself and far downstream by eroding the function and health of the aquatic ecosystems. The issue is most pronounced where livestock spend a lot of time in the water features themselves. Helping livestock find other places to spend their time then is an effective way to help water and thus wildlife. Controlled access points to water bodies can guard the features against erosion and degradation. Alternative places to find what the livestock seek from water – generally water itself or the cooling it provides in summer – can reduce impacts as well. Installing or promoting alternative water sources or providing other ways for animals to cool off in the shade of mature trees or shade structures can reduce the burden on the aquatic features in the pasture and help wildlife. Large canopied trees can not only provide shade to the livestock but also diversify the pasture and create more wildlife habitat and be a win-win-win for wildlife, water, and livestock.
3. Protect unique features.
The grassland ecosystems that pastures provide are essential for a wide diversity of wildlife found in Iowa. Thus, pastures routinely provide more than most other land uses in Iowa for wildlife. But the unique features found within any one pasture can make it even more hospitable to wildlife. Many pastures in Iowa are in areas not suitable for crops, either because they are on steep hillsides or in low-laying areas. That means they may harbor unique ecosystems too, such as fen or oxbow wetlands. Fens are areas where the soil is naturally saturated by groundwater. They often have unique plant life and unique animal life that take advantage of those plants. Oxbow wetlands are disconnected meanders of streams that can fill with water during floods or through groundwater. These features are common in pastures and many wildlife species can benefit from them, including notably the endangered Topeka shiner found in northern and central Iowa oxbow wetlands. Woody features may be unique and worth protecting in pastures too, like small patches of woody plants or large open-grown oak trees. Dead or dying trees are worth protecting too because they provide habitat for bats or other animals that thrive among scattered trees in grasslands like the red headed woodpecker. Finally, remnant native prairies where the soil has never been tilled are one of the rarest ecosystems left in the world, and often found in pastures in Iowa. Learn to recognize the signs of a remnant prairie in your pasture and work with professionals to bring the legacy of diverse healthy native plants back for the plants and animals, including rare insects like the regal fritillary and its host plant prairie violet that thrive in them.
4. Find uses for native grasses, forbs, and legumes.
Most pastures in Iowa comprise a small number of cool-season grasses and legumes native to Europe. Although these plant communities provide many benefits, wildlife thrive most among the native plants to which they are most adapted. Livestock producers all over the Great Plains have productive operations in native pasture and farmers in Iowa are increasingly finding ways to promote and use native forages and plants in their operations. Most notably, most native grasses in Iowa are warm-season grasses, which can provide a critical forage resource during summer when cool-season production declines in conventional pastures. Having a native grass paddock in rotation can help cattle in summer and help wildlife year-round. Similarly, many wildlife species rely on native flowering plants, which can be introduced or promoted in pastures. Native legumes such as purple or white prairie clover, round-headed bush clover, partridge pea, or Illinois bundleflower can help livestock, soil, and wildlife. Other flowering plants can enhance the pasture for wildlife alone by providing nursery plants for insects, nectar sources, or seeds. Examples of native flowers that can thrive in a pasture with benefits to wildlife include over a dozen species of milkweeds, wildflowers like purple coneflower, wild bergamot, or Silphiums, and native woody plants like leadplant or indigo bush.