PERC

"Last year, PERC granted just shy of half a million dollars in direct payments to ranches for virtual fencing. This year it will offer $200,000 but is partnered with the Ricketts Conservation Foundation which is also contributing a few hundred thousand to the same fund.... That sense of its potential is for [Travis] Brammer and PERC, one of the most exciting parts of the technology. Could sage grouse habitats be closed by virtual fences, leaving the wide open spaces around them available for grazing? Could the federal government use cattle to repair dried-up riparian areas on BLM land? That’s already happening in Colorado."

What keeps ranchers up at night? Not just grizzlies or wolves. Often, it’s elk. In places like Montana’s Paradise Valley outside Yellowstone National Park, elk rely on private ranchlands for winter habitat. But when large herds show up, they can eat forage meant for livestock and strain already tight margins. PERC’s “Elk Rent” payment for presence project flips that dynamic. Instead of asking landowners to absorb the cost, our program pays ranchers for the wildlife their land supports. It’s a simple idea: if wildlife depends on private land, conservation should work for the people who steward it. Learn more at perc.org/elkrent.

Ranchers are facing a demographic shift that represents a quiet conservation crisis. The average producer is now 58 years old, and the number of farmers and ranchers ages 35 to 64 fell nearly 10 percent between 2017 and 2022. In the coming decades, nearly 300 million acres of U.S. farm and ranchland are expected to change hands. If ranches do not stay intact and working, they are far more likely to be subdivided or converted. The future of wildlife habitat, water, and open space depends on keeping working lands viable. In a new @AgriPulse op-ed, Travis Brammer explains why virtual fencing can help reduce labor, increase flexibility, and make it easier for the next generation to stay on the land. Read the full piece: agri-pulse.com/articles/24271…

📆 Mark your calendars for April 1: Hot Topics in Conservation Law and Policy CLE - Presented by PERC and The National Wild Turkey Federation Center for Conservation Excellence. 📝RSVP below! 📍 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. Columbus, Ohio. King (Lobby Lvl, T401) Wed. April 1, 9:45am-12:45pm EST Agenda: ⌚️ 9:45-10:45 Endangered Species Act Federalism: Legal Tools for States to Assert More Leadership in Species Conservation and Recovery, presented by Jonathan Wood and Dylan Soares, PERC. ⌚️ 10:45-11:45 Ballot Box Biology: The Evolving Role of Voter Initiatives in Wildlife Management, presented by David Willms, National Wildlife Federation. ⌚️ 11:45-12:45 Open Questions about Open Fields: Do Game Wardens Need a Warrant to Police Wildlife Laws on Private Land? Presented by Daniel Woislaw, Institute for Justice. RSVP ⬇️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…

To date, only 3% of listed species have been recovered by the USFWS. A new approach is necessary to change that. Learn more ⬇️ perc.org/our-focus/inno…. #Conservation #EndangeredSpeciesAct

"Administrations come and administrations go. Budgets go up and budgets go down. But that [endangered species] recovery number has been stuck at 3% for an awful long time. We have to change the incentives here. We have to do something different. We can't be doing the same thing we've been doing for 53 years." - CEO Brian Yablonski, testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

"At the end of the day, conservation works best when it brings people together. If we align incentives, empower bottom-up conservation, and reward success, we can dramatically improve the recovery of imperiled wildlife across America’s landscapes." - CEO Brian Yablonski

"We need to lower the temperature around recovering species. Too often, recovery news has provoked a race to the courtroom rather than a celebration." - CEO Brian Yablonski

CEO Brian Yablonski testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: "In the best of times, it has largely succeeded by preventing extinction, with 99 percent of listed species persisting to this day. In the worst of times, it has recovered only about three percent of all listed species."

This morning, CEO Brian Yablonski is on the ground in D.C. to testify on improving the Endangered Species Act before the Senate and Public Works Committee. 🏛️ Watch the live stream ⬇️epw.senate.gov/public/index.c…

Today is a good day for America’s forests. We’ve lost 1/5 of all giant sequoias over the past decade due to wildfires, and the bipartisan Save Our Sequoias Act will accelerate restoration, strengthen agency partnerships, and give these iconic trees a fighting chance. PERC is grateful to @RepVinceFong, @RepScottPeters, and @RepWesterman for their leadership in getting this conservation win through the House. #SaveOurSequoias

This St. Patrick’s Day, let’s keep our forests green ☘️🌲 The Senate must pass the #FixOurForests Act to give land managers the tools they need to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk and keep our forests healthy.

Incentives are at the heart of lasting conservation. In a recent feature, CEO Brian Yablonski reflects on why keeping the West wild means aligning economics with ecology–and ensuring wildlife becomes an asset, not a liability, for the people who live alongside it. Read more ⬇️ mtoutlaw.com/publisher-lens…

“Ultimately, allowing agencies to revoke permits without consequence makes political reversals artificially cheap,” argues Jonathan Wood @PERCtweets trib.al/UYegqoj

Fewer than 150 dusky gopher frogs remain in the wild. Recovering the species will require restoring longleaf pine habitat across the Southeast, much of it on private land. But when 1,500 acres of private timberland in Louisiana were designated as “critical habitat” in 2012, the frog wasn’t there, and the land lacked the features it needs to survive. The designation reduced property values and triggered a Supreme Court case. It created conflict. It did not create habitat. If we want more wildlife recoveries, we need policies that reward landowners for restoring and maintaining habitat through clear definitions, voluntary agreements, habitat payments, and results-based incentives. On World Wildlife Day, our goal is about more than celebrating wildlife. Let’s build policies that help species like the dusky gopher frog recover in the real world. #worldwildlifeday

PERC's VP of Law and Policy, Jonathan Wood, in @washingtonpost: “Conservation works best when the federal government treats private landowners as partners, not obstacles.” washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…

@BenGoldsmith Thanks for sharing, @BenGoldsmith. This report is just one part of our broader virtual fencing work happening across the U.S.—from pilot projects to policy and research. Learn more at perc.org/virtualfence 📡

Fencing is a curse for wildlife. Fortunately, virtual fencing (GPD enabled collars for example) is becoming a real thing – and it could change everything. perc.org/2026/02/19/vir…