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The need to conserve declining special-status species and natural communities is severe.� Controversy over livestock grazing practices and lack of scientific research to guide grazing management in specific habitats hinders progress in effectively deploying this important landscape-level conservation tool. To improve conservation outcomes amidst controversy and scientific uncertainty, we propose land managers implement the Adaptive Stewardship grazing model. Essential elements of the Adaptive Stewardship grazing model include: development of a site-specific grazing management plan as the initial step in using grazing for conservation purposes; planning focuses on key adjustments to grazing practices and landowner leasing and supervision practices that are most likely to make conventional ranching better at achieving conservation and sustainability objectives; flexibility of grazing practices and focus on achieving performance standards (results over methods); development of special-status species and natural community habitat needs into grazing management targets at specified places and during specified seasons; incentives for rancher stewardship; monitoring design to generate quantitative and qualitative results on the highest priority variables to efficiently inform and guide grazing and related activities throughout the grazing season as well as annual adaptations of the grazing strategy or the overall grazing plan; cost minimization through efficient use of rancher services, monitoring, supervision, and administration.We describe some of the difficulties facing managers who wish to incorporate Adaptive Stewardship grazing into their conservation management and propose strategies to surmount these constraints.