Conservation grazing is an important stewardship method currently practiced on a variety of POST-owned properties. Most notable of these is Toto Ranch, 925 acres on the San Mateo Coast. Here, cattle, llamas, horses, sheep and goats graze the land, contributing to the overall health of the landscape.

A look at the animals on Toto Ranch:

Horse and foal

Black Baldy Bull with calf

A solitary llama at Toto Ranch

The animals on Toto Ranch can be thought of as modern day elk. Ten thousand years ago, elk herds grazed the land where we live today, driven from location to location by predators such as mountain lions. The constant movement of the herds prevented overgrazing and provided space for native perennial grasses to thrive, thereby increasing soil health.

Today, POST and several other groups are working to recreate this historic practice. At a recent conference I attended, I learned about strategies that can be used to manage a property to promote native grassland. These strategies focus on mimicking the movement of herds as they try to avoid a predator. Except, in the modern day strategies, electric fences are now the “predator.” The result is a herd of cattle that moves as the boundaries of the fence move, just as a herd would move away from a predator.

Why don’t cattle move on their own to new grasslands? After the cattle take the first pass at an area, the grass that grows back is sweeter than grass in other areas. The cows prefer this sweeter taste. If left to graze without a predator, natural or otherwise, cattle would overgraze one area, not giving the grass adequate time to recover.

Healthy grassland on Toto Ranch

On Toto Ranch and other properties, we are working with the grazing tenants to implement conservation grazing techniques consistent with POST’s commitment to rangeland health. This commitment comes from the idea that healthy grassland is the basis for a healthy ecosystem. Conservation grazing improves not just one property, but the land surrounding it, the watersheds nearby, and the entirety of the Santa Cruz Mountains landscape. This method of land stewardship is essential to preserving the vitality of open space.

For more information about conservation grazing from POST’s resident expert, Director of Land Stewardship Paul Ringgold, read his recently-published article entitled “Free-Range Cattle on the Bay Area’s Rural Fringe.”