Net Positive for Nature on National Forests

From stylish Olympic blazers to reducing carbon impacts, ranchers in the west make a global impact

Across the West, lands are scarred with reminders of overuse and undermanagement. A century of fire suppression has resulted in unhealthy and overstocked forests. The cost to treat an acre of land can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. This leaves private landowners and government agencies faced with a financial limbo — who is paying for all of this and how?

As the individuals, organizations and agencies come to grips with the financial reality that is land restoration, we take a peek at the often invisible land practices at the core of American ranchers.

Stewards of the Land

Ranchers are masters at the delicate dance of ecological balance. Responsible grazing and animal husbandry practices directly affect their business. Sustainable land grazing results in ideal nutrition for livestock and can have positive impacts as vast as watershed, soil and climate health.

And then there are some ranchers who go above and beyond the legal standards and requirements for the sake of natural resource conservation.

Founder of Shaniko Wool Company Jeanne Carver has deep roots in America’s agricultural community. Carver’s family ranch has operated continuously since 1871. Since the late 1980s, they’ve adopted sustainable farming practices that address soil impacts, water quality improvements, and animal welfare that have carried on into her wool business.

“We have a long history of working closely with our natural resource agency partners in the management of land and natural resources,” said Carver. “It's the health of our soil, water, grasslands, plant communities, the whole thing, that determines our collective future.”

Today, Carver’s Shaniko Wool Company is a “farm group” of ranches supplying wool that is Responsible Wool Standard-certified and fully traceable. In short, because of the stringent requirements, these ranches are having a net positive carbon impact on the environment.

It is common for federal land-use agencies to allow ranchers to graze livestock on federal lands. Strict standards are in place to prevent negative environmental or wildlife impacts. With well-managed grazing, ranchers help reduce fuels on the ground. Plus, sheep grazed on federal land are a direct link to carbon sequestration.

According to research from The Woolmark Company, “Organic carbon makes up 50% of the weight of wool, which is more than cotton, which is 40% carbon by weight and wood pulp-based fibers, such as rayon, viscose and bamboo, which are each about 42% carbon by weight.”

“We’re drawing down more carbon through our activities, our grazing management, than we are releasing as ranching operations,” said Carver. “We are net carbon sinks. Our greenhouse gas emissions are a net negative value. We're below zero. We’re operating in a way that is net positive for nature.”

Shaniko Wool Company is also in year five of an independent, third-party research and measurement initiative to calculate the net impact of the ranches in the farm group. This research is being conducted on not only their private land, but all the land they graze — including Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management allotments.

Ranching Ripple Effect

Agriculture was once a booming industry in America. But faced with worsening environmental conditions, cheaper labor overseas, and the ever-increasing cost of doing business in this country, the agriculture sector is a tough business model. Most rely on grants, credits and incentives from government entities to make it work.

Companies that offset carbon emissions through their business operations can receive carbon credits as a source of income if sold off. Or they can invest or purchase carbon credits to reduce their carbon footprint — paying others to take action on the climate crisis on their behalf. While others may purchase carbon insets. They essentially invest in the regenerative work on the ground.

Carver points out that since many of their sheep are grazed on federal lands, there is significant carbon credit income lost. Federal permittees currently cannot enter into private contracts to deliver on increased carbon capture.

If this practice ever becomes allowable, Carver says, “We will deliver a win for all our federal agency partners and for our industry.”

Until then, Carver’s network of ranchers that are grazing on federal lands are leaving the land better than they found it and banking carbon — all without the high price tag to restore an acre of federal land.

Made in America

Carver’s wool journey began when the American textile industry declined in the 1990s and her family ranch could no longer sell their wool.

“Between 1996 and 2000, 26,000 sheep producers in the U.S. went out of the business, which has been the fabric of America since our founding. We saw this being destroyed and along with it, the sheep industry, which is where the fiber is produced for our clothing and textiles. Wool has been the core of humankind's textiles for more than 10,000 years.”

At that time, Carver focused her energy on branding her wool business. She gained traction with apparel companies that value the environmental positives of a reduced supply chain and Made in America.

Today, wool from Shaniko Wool Company has been sought out by brands like Patagonia and Ralph Lauren as a Responsible Wool Standard supplier. Notably, her wool has been previously featured in several Ralph Lauren Olympic uniform pieces. This includes Team USA’s wool blazers that will be donned at the Opening Ceremony Parade for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But as operating costs continue to increase, Carver stresses the importance of sustaining the agricultural community, “The point everyone has forgotten is that as it goes away, we have fewer and fewer grazing animals and fewer and fewer people in this industry delivering the food and fiber that have sheltered and sustained humankind for thousands of years. This is survival. We're doing something that's not glamorous. It's timeless.”