Ongoing Restoration Efforts

Habitat restoration and enhancement efforts on the Bufferlands are ongoing. Through these efforts, the size of our riparian forests has more than doubled, and native perennial grasses are now an integral part of the landscape. Also, our staff continues to work with the resident farmers to better structure  Bufferlands agricultural operations to benefit wildlife. For example, cattle grazing is used to enhance areas for the western burrowing owl, where vegetation would otherwise become too thick for these small raptors to hunt.

Other farmed areas provide foraging and nesting areas for coyotes, northern harriers, the endangered Swainson’s hawk and a host of other bird and mammal species. In addition, the excess water from an on-site aquaculture operation provides fresh water to a portion of the Bufferlands wetlands.