Rodger Savory is an ecologist who is focused on turning deserts into grasslands. Rodger is director of Savory Holistic, which utilizes livestock to turn deserts into grasslands that have a positive impact on the climate, water quality and wildlife. He is now proposing to restore a desert in southern California, and we’ll be talking about his hopes for this project.

Much of the continental United States is rapidly desertifying. One of the driest, hottest deserts in the United States is the Salton Sea/Imperial Valley area in southern California, just east of Los Angeles. This is a human caused desert that heats up the nearby urban areas, causing hospitalization and death.

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT I ASKED RODGER IN THIS INTERVIEW:
Opening question
Rodger, you have turned deserts into grasslands all over the world, including Africa, Australia and North America. Now you propose to create a grassland from a desert in Southern California. What would you like people to know about your proposed project?

Carbon XPrize
Your organization is in competition for the Carbon XPrize. According to the Carbon XPrize website, “This four-year global competition invites innovators to create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.”
What motivated you to enter this competition, and why do you think your team has a serious chance of winning?

Why no rain in Salton Sea?
You have lived on a mountain range that stands between Los Angeles and the Imperial Valley. You have seen it rain on one side but not the other. What is going on there?

The process, step by step.
Let’s say you are charged with the management of a tract of land that is 5000 acres. This 5000 acres is currently a desert and you are going to turn it into a grassland.
What do you do first and then next?

Plants or cows first?
Do you sow the seed mix first and then wait for it to grow, or do you run the cattle on it to fertilize the ground?

First Two Years
Over the course of the first and second year, what could people expect to see?

Seed mix
You have formulated a seed mix that includes 120 species. Each species is carefully selected. In formulating this mix, what are you trying to achieve?

Biological Carpet
As part of your process of turning deserts into grasslands, you propose to create a biological carpet. That’s an interesting term. What is the biological carpet, and why is that something you want to create?

Fungi
Fungi are often neglected and misunderstood in farming, ranching and ecological restoration.
What special role do fungi play in the process of turning deserts into grasslands?

UV kills bacteria
You have observed that UV rays kill bacteria. What is the significance of this in terms of how sunlight shines on the desert floor?

Microclimates
We talk a lot about the global climate, but you also emphasize microclimates.
What is a microclimate and how does it work?

The economics of the business
You are proposing that people invest in a business enterprise with the expectation of making a profit. How does that work? What is your business model?

Increasing land values
If you’re a land owner, you want to sell the land for more than the purchase price. Does your holistic management cause the value of land to go up?

Wildlife
What are some of the more impressive things you’ve seen in terms of the return of wildlife to an area that’s been ecologically restored?

Heat Czar
Los Angeles has recently appointed Marta Segura as the Chief Heat Officer.
The role of the Chief heat officer is to respond to heat emergencies and also to prevent heat emergencies. What would you like to tell Marta Segura?