Guide to Regenerative Grazing Leases: Opportunities for Resilience

CHAPTER 3. Agricultural Management Plans (Continued)
BIODIVERSITY AND THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES
While maximizing biodiversity is a central principle of regenerative agriculture,
landholders may be legitimately concerned about the unintended consequences of
creating good habitat for sensitive species—which can trigger lengthy and costly
compliance measures. Landholders may even be reluctant to enter into leases with
regenerative graziers for fear of a future ‘take’ associated with newly-created habitat.
When possible, landholders are urged to take a baseline biodiversity resource
inventory, and to be aware of any existing habitat for threatened or endangered
species. If concerns are found that a lessee’s grazing practices, by increasing
biodiversity, may trigger costly regulatory consequences, the landholder may
consider a voluntary Safe Harbor agreement designed to mitigate for the risk and
responsibility of maintaining that habitat while complying with the Endangered
Species Act.
Photo: William Milliot, TomKat Ranch
© Copyright 2022 California FarmLink and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation
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