PROTECTING PEOPLE AND OUR PLANET

We are proud to help grow the fashion and outdoor industry’s role in addressing climate change, advocating for climate and environmental justice and helping fuel regenerative practices that create a positive relationship with nature.

REGENERATIVE RANCHING & STEWARDSHIP AND VIRTUAL FENCE PROJECT

More than half of U.S. grasslands have been degraded or converted, harming wildlife and increasing economic challenges for ranchers. Regenerative ranching, including improved grazing practices and adaptive management, can help lands provide food and jobs, secure clean water and wildlife habitat and store carbon in the soil. With funding from The VF Foundation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) created an innovative, inclusive “toolbox” of metrics and curriculum to give indigenous and Latinx ranchers an introduction to regenerative ranching. They enabled stakeholders to measure the outcomes with a goal of improving management on 240 million acres (30%) of U.S. grazing lands by 2030. Funding also leveraged a virtual fence pilot project. Existing infrastructure like barbed-wire fencing limits the precision and flexibility that ranchers need for regenerative grazing practices or climate change adaptation. Virtual fencing, which uses GPS collars to manage cattle, is emerging as a powerful tool for flexible management. The project aligned with a Native American partner, the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico, to deploy and evaluate virtual fence technology on grazing units managed by the Pueblo. Workshops will follow to share lessons learned and how indigenous and Latinx producers can use it to advance adaptive management on the grazing lands they manage.