Key

1
Key Best Practice Drivers for the Crop Sector

1. Reduce Nutrient, Sediment and Herbicide Runoff
2. Riparian buffer strips,
3. Cropping systems (reduced tillage ,emphasize on
   perennial crops)
4. More Balanced Nutrient Application Technologies
   (organic vs inorganic, rates, timing, types,
   placement)
5. Integrated pest management (bio-controls) to
   reduce herbicide usage
6. Where cultivation does occur, emphasize perennial
   crops over annual crops
7. Maintain or improve native rangelands
8. No expansion of cultivated lands into native
   prairie
9. Convert cultivated lands to perennial lands
10. Recognize declining water supply
11. Irrigation, where it does occur, should occur on
    lands that minimize adverse effects on water
    quality and native grasslands (best management
    practices apply here)

2
Key Best Practice Drivers for the Grazing
Sector 1

• Reduce Livestock Impact to riparian areas
  (streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands)
• Off-stream water development
• Implement appropriate grazing rotations
• Limit access to riparian areas during vulnerable
  periods (high flows and sensitive regeneration in
  dormancy)
• Hardened Crossings
• Distribution tools
• Location of winter feeding sites
• Streamside fencing
• 2. Improve Range Health through Improved Grazing
  Practices
• Apply ecologically sustainable stocking rates
  (balance livestock demand with the available
  forage supply)
• Distribute livestock grazing impact
• Avoid grazing during vulnerable periods,
• Provide effective rest periods after grazing
• Emphasize dormant season grazing of fescue
  grasslands
• Utilize prescriptive grazing and seasonality of
  forages to manage invasive agronomic grass
  species like Timothy, Smooth brome and Kentucky
  bluegrass

3
Key Best Practice Drivers for the Grazing
Sector 2

• 3. Improve Livestock Forage Production Systems
• Greater emphasis on perennial grasses and reduced
  emphasis on annual forage crops
• 4. Improve Feedlot Systems
• Restrict Feedlots from being proximal to Water
• More even distribution on cropland landscape for
  improved waste distribution
• Improve Waste Storage Design

4
Key Better Practice Drivers for Forestry Sector

1. Increase prevalence and functionality of
   riparian forests
2. Retain higher level of residual Green Trees on
   cutblocks
3. Increase dependency on bridges reduce dependency
   on culverts
4. Reclaim access roads as soon as possible
5. Gated systems for access control
6. Avoid high slope regions to reduce road-related
   sedimentation and improve reclamation

5
Key Best Practice Drivers for Energy Sector

1. Establish and Implement Management Thresholds for
   Linear Feature Density Values
2. Reclaim Footprint (access roads, wellsite,
   pipelines, seismic lines) immediately following
   production life
3. Increase use of Directional Drilling to reduce
   footprint
4. Avoid further energy sector footprint on
   remaining Native Grassland
5. Implement Access Management Strategies on Linear
   Features (roads, pipelines, seismic lines)
6. Implement offset strategy to ensure no net loss
   of natural capital (native rangelands, water,
   carbon)

6
Key Better Practice Drivers for Residential
Sector

1. Growth in residential development requires proven
   and sustainable water supply (surface and
   subsurface)
2. Avoid Residential Expansion into Remaining Native
   Grassland Communities
3. Encourage urban residential development instead
   of acreage development (require full cost
   assessment for infrastructure) towns should grow
   up and not out Need to establish upper limits to
   area available for residential and service
   infrastructure
4. Promote Cluster Development rather than uniform
   development for rural residential (only works if
   this is tied to thresholds)
5. Prohibit residential development from riparian
   habitats (or floodplain) Maintain and restore
   riparian systems
6. Adopt progressive (toilet to tap) septic system
   technologies
7. Encourage manual removal of exotic vegetation
   (awareness)

7
Key Better Practice Drivers for Recreation
Sector

1. Develop Thresholds for Buffered Recreational
   Footprints and Linear Feature Density (Reclaim
   linear features if above threshold values)
2. Develop a network of designated trails for
   various recreational uses that are designed to
   minimize sedimentation or wildlife displacement
   and restrict recreational activity to appropriate
   trails.
3. Restrict motorized travel off landscape types
   most vulnerable to exotic invasive establishment
4. Minimize human waste input into surface water
   Proper facilities on designated trails
5. Cap water withdrawals for recreational footprints
   (ski areas, golf courses)

8
Key Best Practice Drivers for Wind Energy Sector

1. Reclaim Footprint immediately following
   production life
2. Avoid placement of mining or wind energy on
   residual Native Grassland communities
3. Implement Access Management on Linear Features
   (access roads) Relevance here is on public land
4. Implement offset strategy to ensure no net loss
   of natural capital

9
Key Best Practice Drivers for Mining Sector

1. Reclaim Footprint immediately following
   production life
2. Avoid placement of mining or wind energy on
   residual Native Grassland communities
3. Implement Access Management on Linear Features
   (access roads) Relevance here is on public land
4. Implement offset strategy to ensure no net loss
   of natural capital

10
Key SFS Summary Messages

• All future landuses requires proven and
  sustainable water supply (surface and subsurface)
• Reduce nutrient runoff from croplands and rural
  residential (riparian buffers, improved
  technologies)
• Avoid placing new landuses (linear, polygonal) in
  Native Grasslands
• Adopt cluster development (and caps) for rural
  residential
• Protect Riparian Habitat in natural, grazing
  lands and cropland habitats
• Adopt Forestry practices that emphasize watershed
  protection and carbon sequestration
• Enhance Grassland Integrity through improved
  grazing practices
• Maximize reclamation rates of cutblock and
  wellsite access roads
• Adopt access management strategies for
  transportation networks
• Balance distribution of feedlots for nutrient
  applications