New technology keeps livestock out of wildlife corridors

Cows jostle in their corral amid the striking hills and plains of Wally Harbaugh’s ranch in northeast Montana. One by one, the herd moves through a cattle chute, where a rancher outfits them with a new accessory: a georeferenced collar.

Virtual fencing—a nascent technology that uses GPS-enabled collars and auditory and physical signals to confine livestock—holds promise for replacing the traditional fences that impair wildlife migrations across the Great Plains. Ranchers can instantaneously modify where and for how long cattle roam by drawing a fence line on a digital device, allowing them to better respond to seasonal forage availability, protect sensitive environments, and manage growth of invasive plants through grazing—all without constructing or moving a single physical barrier.

WWF’s Sustainable Ranching Initiative funds and supports virtual fencing pilot projects across six states. Early adopters of the tool, like Harbaugh, will provide valuable insight into its benefits, drawbacks, and scalability.

“What I’m trying to do here is make it a little bit easier for me while improving the ecology of the whole operation,” Harbaugh says.