E3: Birds and Beef with Pelayo Alvarez, Director of California Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Program

According to Audubon California, our state has 61 million acres of rangelands that provide food production, carbon sequestration, water infiltration, and habitat for a wide range of species. However, this historic California land use is under threat with an average of 20,000 acres a year being lost to development or crop conversion. This means that in order to protect the birds and ecosystem services of our rangelands, the Audubon Society, and really anyone working in conservation has to work with the ranchers and farmers that own or lease and work those lands. And while there may be some different belief systems or opinions, the land, which is why I started this podcast, is the common denominator. And it's there that we find we have a lot more in common than we thought.   I’m excited to have had the opportunity to talk with Pelayo Alvarez, Director of California Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Program and long-time working lands advocate in the Central Valley region. We continue this conversation around conservation on an altered landscape, but for this episode through the lenses of carbon and bird habitat. We talk about the logistics, management plans, and support systems that go into making this more conscientious management of land a reality, and Audubon’s market-based approach through its bird-friendly land certification program. Hope you enjoy and please check out these links for more information about the Audubon Conservation Ranching program, as well as where you can find your first piece of bird-friendly beef. California Audubon: https://ca.audubon.org/conservation/conservation-ranching Where to buy: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/where-to-buy-conservation-ranching-products?site=ca&nid=30191&origin=conservation/conservation-ranching&_gl=1*xo0xob*_ga*OTE1MTk3MzQxLjE2OTY5OTk1MTI.*_ga_X2XNL2MWTT*MTcwMTk5NjUzNi41LjEuMTcwMTk5NjY1Ny41My4wLjA.