Jacob Yetter Joins Audubon as Conservation Ranching Program Manager for Kansas & Oklahoma

Manhattan, Kan. (March 14, 2025) — The National Audubon Society’s Audubon Conservation Ranching program is expanding its presence in Kansas and Oklahoma with the addition of Jacob Yetter as the new Conservation Ranching Program Manager for the region.

Yetter, an Illinois native and recent graduate of North Dakota State University earned his Master of Science in Natural Resource Management, focusing his thesis on the Seasonal Ecology of Ring-necked Pheasants in a Dynamic Agroecosystem. Now based in Manhattan, Kansas, Yetter will work alongside ranchers, agencies, and conservation partners to implement and grow Audubon Conservation Ranching in the region.

“Audubon Conservation Ranching is all about supporting ranchers as conservation leaders,” said Yetter. “I look forward to working with private landowners in Kansas and Oklahoma to help sustain healthy grasslands, abundant birdlife, and resilient ranching communities.”

Grasslands are North America’s most imperiled ecosystem, with Kansas and Oklahoma at the heart of this crisis. The Great Plains has lost more than 70% of its native grasslands, primarily due to conversion for row crop agriculture, urban development, and woody plant encroachment. This habitat loss has driven steep declines in grassland bird populations, including species such as the Lark Bunting, Eastern Meadowlark, and Lesser Prairie-Chicken.

Audubon Conservation Ranching is a flagship initiative designed to reverse these declines by working directly with ranchers to support rotational grazing and other bird-friendly management practices. The program’s bird-friendly certification recognizes lands where producers meet rigorous standards for habitat management, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. Once land is certified, which includes passing a third-party audit, producers and their brands use the Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly seal on their beef and bison product packaging, signaling to consumers a new way to support on-the-ground conservation efforts.

Yetter said he is excited to tout the often-misunderstood connection between grazing and grasslands. “Integrating rotational grazing benefits both grassland birds and livestock herds. By strategically moving cattle across pastures, rotational grazing helps maintain diverse vegetation height and structure, which provides essential nesting and foraging habitat for birds like the Bobolink, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite,” Yetter said. “At the same time, this approach enhances soil health, water retention, and forage quality, leading to more resilient rangelands and healthier livestock. Well-managed grasslands support higher biodiversity, reduce the spread of invasive species, and create productive, sustainable grazing systems that benefit both ranchers and wildlife.

For more information about Audubon Conservation Ranching in Kansas and Oklahoma, please contact Jacob Yetter. For more information about Audubon Conservation Ranching, contact ConservationRanching@Audubon.org.

About Audubon Conservation Ranching

A wildlife habitat initiative of the National Audubon Society with a unique market connection, Audubon Conservation Ranching aims to stabilize declining grassland bird populations in partnership with ranchers. Audubon Conservation Ranching’s enrollment includes over 100 ranches and nearly 3 million acres that have earned status as Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly Land. Incentivizing this habitat work for birds and biodiversity are consumers with an appetite for conservation, who support it by purchasing products grazed on these lands. Shoppers see a special package designation – the Audubon Certified Bird-Friendly seal – that sets these products apart. For more information, visit www.audubon.org/ranching.