Rangeland Revitalization
On the Mitsui Ranch Preserve we set out to re-establish a perennial grass dominated rangeland. We use three major tools to achieve that goal: cattle grazing; prescribed fire; and re-establishing native perennial grasses by planting seeds after implementing prescribed fire.
Cattle Grazing
Our cattle grazing program is managed by the Sonoma Mountain Institute, who bring cattle to the property each year. The cattle are rotated throughout the property to ensure that no section is grazed too heavily, and to help target specific regions containing nonnative vegetation.
Prescribe Fire
We time prescribed fire for when the annual grasses are almost dead but still hold most of their seeds on their stalks. Our primary target is an alien annual grass called medusa head, but fire works well on other annuals as well. Medusahead is a species that cattle will not eat. Therefore, it continues to grow unabated until it takes over vast portions of pasture, leaving little food for cattle. Timed well, a prescribed fire can kill up to 95% of the annual seed crop of medusahead.
Native Grasses
After prescribed fire, we use a no-till seed drill (Truax) to plant the burned area with native grass seed hand-collected here on the Mitsui Ranch Preserve and grown out and amplified for us by Heritage Growers. Heritage Growers are able, in a period of a few years, to take a small collection of seed and turn it into a harvest large enough for us to seed tens of acres. In fact, we gauge the acreage of our prescribed fire to be sure we have enough to replant in the desired areas.
Mitsui Ranch Preserve