Video Assets and Resources
To effectively impact the biome, we need an increased awareness with public audiences
about the critical importance of the Central Grasslands.
Video Storytelling can help meet that need.
Recent Video Releases
New Grasslands Videos Released from Cornell
Most of the grasslands in the Great Plains exist as rangelands – managed and stewarded by private landowners. Yet rising costs and the fact that ranching earns less than any other land use have cut rancher numbers in half since the 1980s. As we lose these ranchers, we lose the valuable grassland ecosystems that support their livelihoods, rural communities, water and wildlife. The Lesser Prairie-Chicken – an iconic grassland bird famous for its spring dances – has lost 97% of its population since the 1800s. With 95% of remaining birds living on private lands, their future depends on the success of ranchers.
The Lesser Prairie Chicken Landowner Alliance (LPCLA) is finding innovative ways for ranchers to sustain their livelihoods while restoring health to the land. When ranchers can keep their operations viable, the grasslands and wildlife that depend on them also thrive. Watch Saving Ranches to Save Wildlife.
Backbone of North America
Grasslands are the most threatened and least protected biome on Earth. This film introduces the Central Grasslands or Great Plains of North America, what we stand to lose by continuing to destroy them, and how to save what remains of this essential ecosystem. A big thank you to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Center for Conservation Media for producing this film! Please share throughout your grassland networks. View the short film here
South Dakota's Our Amazing Grasslands features the Central Grasslands Roadmap
A big thank you for this beloved series that we feature often to focus in our efforts (see more on this series below). Watch the May feature on the Roadmap from South Dakota's Amazing Grasslands Series
Other incredible storytelling effort across the Northern Great Plains:
The Guardians of the Grasslands
Cargill and NFWF Team Up for Conservation
CGRI Webinar Series
A Grasslands Overview 4-Part Webinar Series: “Grasslands: Culture, Conservation, and Resiliency”
Excellent overview of the nuanced issues facing the Grasslands and Human Communities
South Dakota Series: Our Amazing Grasslands
"There's a real quality of life to living here in the west. And a lot of it is because of our open spaces, and to see young people realize that and hold that as valuable is really encouraging to me. Talking to Karlie, you talk about not just the biodiversity of grasslands, but there's a natural system here. They're self-containing and functional, and that's the beauty of ranches. We're producing food and fiber on the landscape but doing it in a way that's as sustainable as any system can be. And what it does is it keeps our biodiversity and our natural systems together, which is great for wildlife and open spaces, clean air, clean water, everything that we're always looking for." - Mitch Faulkner
See updates about this series in a recent newsletter
Series: Taking a Stand for Grasslands
More than half the native grasslands in the U.S. have been permanently lost, and in recent decades grassland bird populations have followed suit. While these vital habitats might always not get as much attention as forests and wetlands, countless are groups working to restore, protect, and manage grasslands throughout the Great Plains. The Cornell Lab's Center for Conservation Media was invited by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Northern Great Plains Program to create four short films highlighting the people on the front lines in the campaign to reverse declines in this ecoregion.