Rancher Name: Jeannie Franceus
Audubon Certified Bird Friendly Ranch: Leone Valley Ranch
Location: Wessington Springs, SD
Leone Valley Ranch Website
Podcast: The Insights of an Involved Landowner 

What is your favorite bird and why?
Prairie Chickens are beautiful and fascinating birds that are native to this area. They are most notable for their elaborate and dramatic mating rituals. They have SO much going against them. My goal is to make their lives easier with good management practices.

What conservation projects are you working on right now?
I have sub-irrigated alfalfa that has been farmed or hayed for decades. For the past two years, I have grazed it rotationally, using cattle to build soil health. Grazing rather than haying gives nesting birds time to raise their young. Young birds can scoot out of the way of cattle much easier than they can a tractor/mower. Alfalfa weevils have been a problem for both of the past two years, but the alfalfa was able to recover, produce and thrive under managed grazing, without chemical intervention. There are thousands of beneficial insects for every harmful insect and surviving weevils without chemicals is a major victory for pollinators, as well as birds and other wildlife in the area.  

Who has been your most influential woman mentor?
Without a doubt, it would be my mom. She loved the outdoors, loved cattle and all creatures, and was committed to the value of conservation. Right behind that, to be an Audubon enthusiast, was my grandmother. One of my earliest memories is sitting by her at the window while she used her "1923 Bird Guide" to teach me to identify sparrows, blue jays, and robins outside the window. It was fascinating to me that such little things were so important to her.  

If you had to live in a different state, what would it be?
I lived in Chicago, Illinois, for four years; Portland, Oregon, for nearly 30 years; Florida for five years, and Georgia for nearly a year. And I can say without a doubt, there is nowhere I would rather be than South Dakota.