The Latest Archives • Page 9 of 9 • Mountain & Prairie

Rebecca Jewett is the executive director of Palmer Land Trust, a conservation organization committed to protecting southern Colorado’s recreational open space, working agricultural land, and stunning scenic vistas. Under Rebecca’s leadership, Palmer has moved away from traditional, decades-old land conservation methods and into a more proactive model, pursuing audacious and outside-the-box conservation strategies across a variety of landscapes. By focusing on community above all else, Palmer is finding win-win scenarios that benefit all of southern Colorado’s numerous stakeholders, from ranchers and farmers to mountain bikers and climbers, and from cities and municipalities to counties and rural areas.

Rebecca is a fifth-generation Coloradan who grew up deeply immersed in the outdoors, which instilled a passion for open space that has guided her career trajectory. After ten years in public lands-related work, she made the shift into private land conservation when she took the helm of Palmer. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Rebecca has big plans for tackling some of Colorado’s most pressing conservation issues, issues that threaten the West from ecological, economic, and community perspectives. Her enthusiasm for her work is contagious, and her ability to communicate complex issues in an engaging way is second-to-none.

Folks who follow me on social media may already know, but I was so impressed with Rebecca and the rest of the Palmer team that I recently left the ranch brokerage business and joined the organization as a full-time employee. The opportunity to apply my professional expertise in real estate and finance to some of the West’s most challenging problems was too great of an opportunity to pass up—so I’m officially a full-time Palmer staff member, Rebecca is my boss, and I couldn’t be more excited about the work ahead.

I know you’ll enjoy this conversation, because Rebecca and I cover a wide range of topics that should be of interest for anyone who loves the West. We discuss the importance of water, agriculture, open space, and recreation, and how conservation can bring together stakeholders from all of those factions. We talk about the Arkansas River basin where Palmer focuses its efforts, and how it encompasses every Colorado landscape, from 14,000-foot mountains to flat, open grasslands. Rebecca elaborates on her leadership style, and also talks about her experience being a female leader in a once male-dominated industry. She also explains some specific projects that Palmer is taking on, and how the entire Colorado land trust community collaborates toward common goals. As usual, we also cover favorite books, films, places in the West, and much more.

If you haven’t already, give Rebecca and Palmer Land Trust a follow on social media, and be sure to check the episode notes for links to everything we discuss. Enjoy!

All photos courtesy of Rebecca Jewett

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Episode Notes

Topics Discussed:

3:30 – How Rebecca describes her work

4:40 – Palmer Land Trust explained

6:10 – The Arkansas River Basin

8:25 – Balancing all the conservation stakeholders

10:50 – Importance of community

13:30 – Palmer’s focus on being proactive and strategic

17:25 – Water and conservation in the Lower Arkansas Valley

20:50 – Alternative valuation for conservation

23:00 – The “dust bowl” results of drying up farmland

24:25 – Uniqueness of conserving farmland

27:45 – Water projects in southeastern CO

29:45 – Bipartisan nature of private land conservation

31:35 – Palmer’s work conserving public lands

33:45 – Rebecca’s family history in Colorado

36:25 – Colorado College

37:40 – Early career, grad school, and Rocky Mountain Field Institute

40:30 – Early outdoor experiences

41:50 – Joining Palmer Land Trust

44:00 – Balancing audacious goals versus being realistic

46:40 – Rebecca’s leadership style

53:10 – Thoughts on being a woman leader in conservation

58:40 – Ed’s new job at Palmer

1:00:00 – Favorite books

1:04:10 – Favorite films

1:05:40 – Rebecca’s hobbies

1:07:15 – Craziest outdoor experience

1:11:30 – Favorite location in the West

1:12:30 – Best advice ever received

1:14:50 – Request of the listeners

1:16:55 – Connect with Palmer online

Information Referenced

Posted on July 27, 2018 by ELR

Blog, Podcast, The Latest

Agriculture, Conservation, Conservationists, Ecology, Leadership, Service

Last week, Jeff and Darcie over at Colorado Springs’ local podcast, The Little London Show, graciously asked me to stop by for a chat. We had a fun conversation and covered wide range of subjects—conservation, my new gig with Palmer Land Trust, Theodore Roosevelt, public lands, the Springs vs. Boulder, books, the ridiculousness of ultra running, my podcast, and much more.

I have no idea if I made a lick of sense—most likely not—but if you’re interested, you can listen below.

The Little London Show: Episode 141 – Ed Roberson

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Posted on July 17, 2018 by ELR

Blog, The Latest

July-August Book Club Selection: “Blood and Thunder” by Hampton Sides

If you’ve been following the blog and podcast for a while, you know that I read tons of books about the American West—everything from the detailed history of barbed wire to biographies of Stegner and Abbey to ecological examinations of the West’s large mammals.

But if I could only recommend one book, the choice would be easy. This book combines dense, specific history of the white man’s settling of the West, structured around the biography of one of our country’s most heroic-notorious-paradoxical characters. It sheds light on the horrific mistreatment of Native Americans, while explaining the “Manifest Destiny” thinking that led to those atrocities. And it presents all of this information in an amazingly entertaining and exciting narrative that is truly fun to read.

The July-August Book Club Selection is:

Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West by Hampton Sides

Blood and Thunder is in my top five favorite books of all time, and—no exaggeration—everyone I know who’s read it has loved it. Reading the book gave me a base level of knowledge about the West that has served me well both professionally and personally. This is also one of those books that introduces you to countless characters and concepts that will warrant further reading and study—it’s a gateway drug into deep Western history.

If you’re like me, you’ll be disgusted by the government’s treatment of Native Americans, and likely perplexed by Kit Carson’s role in the “taming of the West” and the seemingly hypocritical nature of some of his actions. Was he really the Western superhero character that pop culture portrays him as? I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on that.

Hampton Sides is a world-class writer who has honed his gift for telling complex stories in easy-to-read, engaging prose. I’ve read most of his books and much of his shorter-form writing for Outside magazine and the like—his subjects span a broad range but his writing is consistently top-notch. But of all he has written, there’s something special about Blood and Thunder that has stuck with me for years and years, so I trust that you’ll glean lots of value from it, as well.

If you’d like to participate:

Grab a copy of Blood and Thunder—purchase it from Amazon or your local bookseller, or check it out from your local library. Start reading.
Head over to our Goodreads Group. Create an account, then join in the conversation in the online discussion forum. As you read, give your feedback on the book, pose questions to the group, and share your thoughts as you plow through the epic. I’m especially interested in your thoughts on Kit Carson—is he the hero that history has made him out to be? I have my own thoughts that I’ll share.
The only way this works is with lots of participation from lots of people, so the more the better. DON’T BE SHY!

Mountain & Prairie Book Club – Goodreads Group

Posted on July 15, 2018 by ELR

Blog, The Latest

Sarah Wentzel-Fisher is the Executive Director of the Quivira Coalition, an innovative conservation organization devoted to building soil, biodiversity, and resilience on western working landscapes. Quivira was founded over twenty years ago by two conservationists and a rancher, all three of whom were exhausted by the divisive nature of the relationships between the agricultural and environmental communities. By putting their few differences aside and focusing on their many shared values, Quivira has led many of the West’s stakeholders toward collaborative, long-term solutions that improve western landscapes both ecologically and socially.

Sarah grew up in a small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota and learned the true value of community at an early age. As she grew older, she began to hone in on her interest in food—specifically how food and food production play such a huge role in the health and resilience of local communities. Her graduate work focused on the role of small-scale agriculture in New Mexico, and for six years she was the editor ofEdible Santa Fe, a New Mexico-based magazine that covers the region’s local food scene. Her background made her a perfect fit for Quivira’s mission, and her creative mindset and understanding of agriculture have allowed her to successfully lead the organization into its next phase.

I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah here in Colorado Springs as she was on the tail end of a massive road trip through the West visiting with farmers, ranchers, and land managers. We had a fun conversation and touched on so many of the subjects that are of interest to me and to the podcast listeners. We chatted about the specifics of regenerative agriculture, and some of the misconceptions among well-meaning environmentalists around grazing as an effective method to fight climate change. Speaking of climate change, we talked about why Quivira does not hesitate to discuss climate change, even though that term can be a hot button issue among certain groups. We discussed the idea of rugged individualism, Quivira’s concept of the “Radical Center,” and the organization’s agricultural mentor program. She offered some advice for aspiring conservationists, and talked about how her creativity has served her well as a leader. And as usual, we covered books, films, favorite places in the West and more.

I encourage you to visit Quivira’s website and also to check out their podcast—it’s called Down To Earth: The Planet to Plate Podcast. If you’re a fan of this podcast, odds are you’ll enjoy that one, as well. You’ll probably like it better actually. Check the episode notes for links to everything we discuss, and enjoy!

All photos courtesy of Sarah Wentzel-Fisher