Newly Audubon Certified, Nantz Land & Cattle Helping Grassland Birds Gain Ground in Texas

Throckmorton, Texas (February 5, 2026) — Nantz Land & Cattle, owned and operated by Robert and Stacy Nantz within the Rolling Plains area of the Texas Panhandle, is the latest ranch to earn the Nationwide Audubon Society’s Fowl-Pleasant Land Certification. Obtained by means of Audubon’s Conservation Ranching program, the certification acknowledges lands managed for birds and biodiversity.

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a conservation, certification, and science program rolled into one which lends hope to struggling grassland fowl populations. Since 1970, grassland birds have skilled the steepest inhabitants drop – 43% based on the latest State of the Birds Report – in any terrestrial biome. The first culprits behind these losses in Texas and nationwide embody habitat loss and degradation, tree and shrub encroachment, and pesticide functions—all challenges addressed by this system’s collaborative method to assist land administration that enhances biodiversity and productiveness.

For greater than 15 years, the Nantz household confronted the challenges of standard ranching. In 2023, they turned to regenerative practices, remodeling not solely their cattle and land, but in addition their outlook. At present, Robert and Stacy steward 18,820 acres in Throckmorton County. The land is definitely owned by Travis County (Austin space in central Texas), a part of Texas’s “faculty lands,” a state lands mannequin designed to handle land and bolster schooling funding. Whereas administration from the Nantzes advantages the native ecosystem, income from the ranch advantages the Travis County Everlasting College Fund. “Travis County is an distinctive landowner that has been supportive and deeply dedicated to good land stewardship,” says Stacy. “They share our environmental values and have been extremely supportive of our regenerative administration method, sharing in our pleasure in our Audubon certification.” Collectively, the ranch stands as a mannequin for the way working lands can work for each folks and wildlife, notably birds.”

“Regenerative ranching has modified every thing for us – our cattle, our soil, our backside line, and most significantly, our mindset,” says Stacy. “Incomes the Audubon certification is the following step in our journey, affirming that what’s good for birds and biodiversity can also be good for ranchers.”

To earn the certification, the Nantzes meet rigorous requirements for habitat administration, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare, all of that are verified by a third-party audit. As soon as licensed, ranchers and related manufacturers use the Audubon Licensed Fowl-Pleasant seal on beef and bison product packaging, signaling to shoppers a brand new approach to assist on-the-ground conservation efforts.

On the coronary heart of their method is utilizing cattle as a habitat administration instrument. By consolidating their herd and shifting cattle often, Nantz Land & Cattle provides pastures lengthy durations of relaxation – typically 300 days or extra – earlier than they’re grazed once more. This method creates a mosaic of grassland construction throughout the ranch: patches of brief grass, taller cowl, and numerous forbs. That range offers nesting and foraging alternatives for precedence grassland birds such because the Grasshopper Sparrow, Cassin’s Sparrow, Lark Bunting, Jap Meadowlark, Northern Bobwhite, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Along with adaptive grazing, the ranch is tackling invasive mesquite and prickly pear, implementing prescribed fireplace, and following a drought administration plan – all guided by a grasp Audubon Habitat Administration Plan. Collectively, these practices are restoring the Rolling Plains grassland and enhancing each ecological and financial resilience.

“This certification acknowledges the Nantz household’s dedication to stewardship,” mentioned Anita Gilson, Senior Personal Lands Coordinator with Audubon Texas. “Through the use of cattle to imitate pure disturbance and create a patchwork of habitat, they’re exhibiting how ranching could be a highly effective instrument for conservation.”

Nantz Land & Cattle joins a rising motion of ranches throughout the nation working to revive America’s grasslands by means of bird-friendly practices. Twenty ranches in Texas are Audubon Licensed Fowl-Pleasant, and practically 150 ranches throughout the Southern Plains, Nice Plains, Higher Midwest, and the western U.S. are working beneath the certification, a collective bringing greater than 4 million acres beneath bird-friendly administration.  

Funding for the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in Texas is offered by the Dixon Water Basis, the Nationwide Fish and Water Basis, and the USDA Pure Assets Conservation Service.

For extra details about the Audubon Conservation Ranching program in Texas, please get in contact with Anita Gilson. For extra details about Audubon Conservation Ranching nationally, please contact ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.  

About Audubon Conservation Ranching

Audubon Conservation Ranching companions with ranchers to maintain wholesome grasslands, plentiful birdlife, and resilient rural communities. By our bird-friendly land certification and science-based method, we empower land stewards to reinforce habitat, enhance soil well being and water high quality, and strengthen the connection between conservation and ranching. By buying merchandise from Audubon Licensed Fowl-Pleasant Land, shoppers turn out to be conservationists, serving to defend America’s grasslands and the birds, wildlife, and those who rely on them. For extra info, go to www.audubon.org/ranching.