This is one area where the public can easily visualize how agriculture assists wildlife. Grain crops provide food for geese, ducks, sandhill crane and pheasants. Alfalfa and pasture grasses are utilized by elk, deer, and rabbits as well as other species . Shelter is an important component of habitat that a great number of farmers and ranchers provide by protecting the later seral stages of plant succession. This is especially important in some of the Rocky Mountain states where winters are extreme and a lack of adequate shelter can lead to death by exposure.
Water also plays a very important role in the survival of many wildlife species.
Farmers and ranchers have helped provide water for many forms of wildlife for decades. People in agriculture have made water accessible to their livestock in areas where water was not always available. This has allowed some forms of wildlife to move into areas where they did not previously exist. It has also allowed wildlife to occupy certain areas at higher densities than would be possible without these increased water supplies. Space is an important component of habitat that all animals need for survival.