Temperate grasslands cover an area the size of Alaska in Southern Argentina. Sheep ranching is vital to the local economy, and yet, overgrazing is turning millions of acres of Patagonia’s grasslands into desert. PERC Board Member Carlos Fernandez with The Nature Conservancy, Patagonia, Inc., and Ovis XXI has employed an innovative and market-based effort to save 40 million acres of grasslands in the next 10 to 15 years.
Saving Patagonia Grasslands
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PERC Reports Magazine, Summer 2026
A special issue exploring American conservation history as the nation turns 250.
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Thomas Jefferson: The Lost Founding Father of American Conservation
Two years before he authored the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson set out on the lifelong project of conserving Virginia’s Natural Bridge. Michaelle Browers has described the effort as “perhaps the first major act of nature preservation in the new republic.” The man who would be Governor of Virginia and President of the United StatesContinue reading "Saving Patagonia Grasslands"
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How the Eagle Came Back
As we celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, it is heartening that America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, is no longer imperiled. Although once at risk of extinction throughout much of its historical range, this majestic species rebounded in the late 20th century, and populations are now in good health. At the time of the nation’sContinue reading "Saving Patagonia Grasslands"