Mountain & Prairie

Conversations & Contemplations from the New American West

Category: Podcast

Live at the Amon Carter Museum – In Conversation with James Prosek and Spencer Wigmore
Second Thursday, January 11, 2024: Spencer Wigmore, James Prosek, and Ed Roberson

This is a special live episode that was recorded at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas. The event was centered around the museum’s ongoing exhibition titled Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie, and the episode features a fascinating on-stage conversation with artist and past podcast guest James Prosek and art curator Spencer Wigmore. 

Trespassers is an exhibit about grasslands– specifically, James examines how we think about and define America’s imperiled prairie ecosystem. Over the course of more than two years, James traveled throughout Texas and the Southern Plains, visiting private ranches and urban restoration sites, and he was often accompanied by some of Texas’s most well-renowned grasslands experts. He investigated ideas around how our man-made boundaries and concepts attempt to define grasslands, and how grasslands often do not conform to our desires to control them. He examines ideas around fire, species classification, conservation, and natural history, and the end result is a collection of more than twenty mind-blowing paintings and sculptures.

As the curator for this exhibit, Spencer played a very unique role throughout the entire project– he was the one who initially approached James with the idea, he accompanied James on many of his grasslands road trips, and he even arranged the exhibit in its stunning space within the museum. So I loved learning about the collaboration between artist and curator, how they complimented each other’s personalities, and how they ultimately worked together to bring this spectacular collection of meaningful art into the world.

As you probably remember from my first podcast conversation with James, he’s a deep thinker who has spent his entire career digging into the nuances of our natural world. And Spencer’s depth of understanding of art history and the artistic process– as well as his ability to communicate his knowledge in a fun and engaging way– is second to none.  So I know you’ll enjoy this conversation that covers everything from broad, big-picture ideas around the philosophies of defining species, all the way down to the details of how James created such intricate, delicate sculptures. Be sure to check out the episode notes below for a full list of everything we discussed.

The episode starts with a kind introduction from The Carter’s Manager of Adult Programming, Madeleine Fitzgerald and then James, Spencer, and I begin our conversation.  I hope you enjoy!

Photos of Trespassers:

All photos courtesy of The Amon Carter Museum of American Art

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:00 – Welcome statements
  • 10:45 – How the Trespassers exhibition came about in Spencer’s mind, and how it landed for James
  • 19:15 – Comparing American grasslands to the Great Pyramids
  • 23:45 – James’ painting process
  • 29:15 – Spencer’s role as curator
  • 34:00 – Discussing the work Fort Worth Composition No. 1
  • 37:45 – Discussing James’ interest in silhouettes 
  • 42:30 – James’ use of bronze to depict burn logs
  • 47:00 – James’ clay flowers
  • 50:15 – The biggest surprise in this project for Spencer
  • 54:00  -What James has learned about grasslands since finishing the project
  • 1:01:15 – James’ read on the state of western grasslands conservation
  • 1:06:15 – James’ book recommendations 
  • 1:09:30 – How Spencer sets up the gallery space
  • 1:14:00 – Audience questions begin
  • 1:14:45 – Spencer’s and James’ relationship to Fort Worth, and whether or not they found remnant prairies there
  • 1:20:00 – Where Spencer and James feel the anti-fire bias came from?
  • 1:23:30 – Inquiring about the significance of a Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout in one of James’ works
  • 1:26:15 – Whether or not James or Spencer did some fly fishing as a part of their research for this project

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on February 7, 2024 by

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Ivy Spohnholz – Climate Solutions, Sustainable Fisheries, and Resilient Communities
Ivy Spohnholz
(credit Troy Bowler)

Ivy Spohnholz is the Alaska State Director at The Nature Conservancy, where she leads the organization’s critical work around climate solutions, sustainable fisheries, and resilient communities. Given its size, location, climate, demographics, and economics, Alaska presents a very unique blend of conservation challenges– challenges that can directly affect massive, landscape-scale ecosystems and the communities within them. We’ve rarely, if ever, dug into the details of conservation in Alaska on this podcast, so I was thrilled to have Ivy join me for such an in-depth conversation.

Ivy was born in a dry log cabin in the remote Wrangell Mountains, in what is now Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Her entire career has revolved around public service– she’s held leadership roles at the Salvation Army, University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Conservation Foundation, and Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis. She also served for more than six years in the Alaska House of Representatives, where she honed her skills as a pragmatic and effective problem solver. In the fall of 2022, she took the reins as TNC’s Alaska State Director and has been applying her skills as a leader and problem solver toward Alaska’s distinctive conservation challenges.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit Alaska on two separate occasions, and I’ve had some of the most formative experiences of my life in the Alaska Range. The size and scale of the mountains, valleys, and wildlife are so staggering that it’s impossible to visit Alaska without gaining a deep respect for both the landscapes and the people who live there. So, I was excited to have the opportunity to chat with Ivy about her adventurous upbringing in Alaska and her service-oriented career. We talk in detail about her unexpected entrance into politics and how she quickly learned to lead and navigate the law-making process as an elected official. We discuss TNC’s focus areas in Alaska, and we talk a lot about Bristol Bay and its ecological and economic significance in the world. As you’ve probably come to expect, we talk about the all-important power of relationships, and we also discuss the need to be practical and optimistic.

A big thank you to Ivy for taking the time to talk with me– I greatly appreciate all of the important work being done by TNC Alaska. Enjoy!

Header photo by Matthew Waliszek, hunting photo by Troy Bowler

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…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy and TNC chapters throughout the Western United States. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the last Tuesday of every month throughout 2024, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West and beyond. You can access all of the episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in the West and around the world, visit www.nature.org

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Ivy’s birth in a dry log cabin in the Wrangell Mountains
  • 7:15 – Ivy’s childhood
  • 10:15 – When Ivy left Alaska, and what brought her back
  • 12:00 – How serving others became a core part of Ivy
  • 17:00 – When Ivy became an elected official
  • 24:00 – Discussing the political landscape of Alaska
  • 28:15 – How Ivy became involved with TNC
  • 34:45 – Discussing TNC’s work in Alaska
  • 41:00 – How Ivy balances working urgently with the often slower pace of building relationships 
  • 46:30 – The importance of Bristol Bay
  • 52:00 – Potential future threats to Bristol Bay
  • 57:00 – The biggest surprise for Ivy in her work with TNC
  • 59:30 – Discussing “practical optimism”
  • 1:01:30 – Ivy’s book recommendations
  • 1:03:45 – Ivy’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on January 30, 2024 by

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Chad Ellis – On Leadership, Building Relationships, and Working for the Greater Good
Chad Ellis

Chad Ellis is the CEO of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT), which is one of the nation’s leading ag-focused conservation organizations. TALT’s mission is “To conserve the Texas heritage of agricultural lands, wildlife habitats, and natural resources,” but at its core, TALT’s work is built on the foundation of long-term, trusting, mutually respectful relationships. 

Given the small proportion of public lands in Texas compared to other western states, much of the responsibility for landscape-scale ecological health falls on the shoulders of private landowners. And since 2007, TALT has helped these landowners find ways to not only protect their family legacies, but to improve the overall quality of grasslands, water, air, and wildlife for all Texans.

Chad was raised in rural Texas, and from a very early age, he felt a deep connection to land, agriculture, and wildlife. While his entire career has been devoted to thoughtfully and effectively stewarding natural resources, you’ll quickly realize that at his core, Chad is a relationship builder. During his tenures at the NRSC, the Noble Research Institute, and now as the leader of TALT, Chad has implemented many cutting-edge conservation solutions– but, as you’ll hear him explain, none of these projects would be successful without solid, trusting relationships between all stakeholders.

Longtime listeners will recognize Chad from an earlier appearance on Mountain & Prairie– back in 2023, he was one of the panelists in an episode called “Landscape-Scale Management in a Private Land State,” which was recorded live at the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s annual meeting. In this episode, we dig more into Chad’s personal and professional journey in conservation– why he has devoted his career to such a challenging-yet-critical cause, and how he approaches his work from both practical and philosophical perspectives. We discuss his love of entrepreneurial approaches, his leadership style, mentors, the storied legacy of TALT’s founder Blair Fitzsimons, supporting the next generation of conservationists, his favorite books, and much more.

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to check out TALT’s website and follow its work on social media– TALT is a constant source of inspiration for me and all of the Western conservation community. Thanks for listening!

Photos courtesy of Chad Ellis and TALT

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:30 – Where Chad grew up
  • 7:45 – Chad’s work with PERC
  • 10:15 – Where Chad’s entrepreneurial background came from
  • 16:15 – How Chad moved up in the NRCS ranks
  • 18:45 – Chad’s time with Mobil Foundation
  • 21:45 – Chad’s personal vision
  • 24:30 – Chad’s motivation to strengthen people’s connection to the land, instead of just supporting the land itself
  • 27:15 – How Chad hires for a passionate team
  • 29:15 – Chad’s work securing federal funding
  • 32:45 – How Chad thinks about failure
  • 34:45 – How Chad presented his vision for TALT to an already accomplished director (Blair Fitzsimons)
  • 40:30 – Chad’s goal to support the next generation of conservationists
  • 44:30 – How Chad interprets the threats facing conservation in Texas
  • 51:30 – How Chad prioritizes his allocation of resources
  • 58:45 – Exploring Chad’s level of patience, as well as the various ways that people learn and work
  • 1:03:30 – The importance of relationships
  • 1:07:45 – Chad’s book recommendations
  • 1:09:15 – Chad’s parting words of advice

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on January 25, 2024 by

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Rick Wittenbraker – Humility, Generosity, and Building One-of-a-Kind Brands
Rick Wittenbraker

Rick Wittenbraker is the CMO of Howler Brothers, an Austin-based apparel company that creates some of the most unique, stylish, quirky, and highly functional outdoor clothing for adventurers of all stripes. In a little over a decade, Howler has firmly established itself as the go-to brand for anglers, surfers, travelers, and fun-seekers– the kind of people who value good times with good friends in cool places. 

Rick was born and raised in Texas, attended UT Austin, and spent the first years of his career in traditional businesses such as finance and sales. But in 2009, he joined an up-and-coming cooler company known as Yeti, and that is where Rick’s genius for storytelling really broke through. He eventually became Yeti’s VP of Marketing and was one of the major forces behind Yeti’s groundbreaking approach to building a brand through outside-the-box storytelling. Along the way, he met Howler Brother’s founders– Chase Heard and Andy Stepanian– and eventually decided to join them and apply his brand-building expertise toward expanding what is now known as The Howlerverse.

Rick has been a longtime mentor of mine, and I credit his wisdom and counsel as being one the main factors that have allowed me to build Mountain & Prairie from a silly little side project into my full-time job. And there are countless creatives and entrepreneurs who have a similar story of Rick generously taking an interest in their project, offering his hard-earned wisdom, and expecting nothing in return. So this episode with Rick was long overdue.

We recorded this in Austin, at the Howler Brothers HQ, and we covered a lot, including: Rick’s career path, lessons learned from living internationally, his philosophies around building authentic, completely original brands, his ever-present focus on generosity and humility, separating personal identity from brand identity, growing without abandoning core values, the spirit behind the Howler Brothers brand, the Howler Brothers book, some of his favorite books, and much more.

A big thanks to Rick for taking the time to chat with me, as well as for everything he’s done to help Mountain & Prairie grow and evolve over the years. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Photos courtesy of Rick Wittenbraker

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:00 – Rick’s childhood and what he wanted to be when he grew up
  • 9:15 – Rick’s first job out of college
  • 11:15 – Rick’s mentor in his first job
  • 14:45 – When Rick became interested in marketing
  • 18:00 – When Rick realized he and Yeti were onto something big
  • 20:45 – Inspirations for Rick’s style of marketing with Yeti, and why it works so well
  • 25:30 – Fun that Rick has had on the job
  • 27:45 – Why Rick decided to move along from Yeti
  • 29:45 – A bump in Rick’s career road
  • 31:15 – Balancing the merits of business ideas and businesses with the people who implement them
  • 38:00 – Describing Howler Bros.
  • 44:15 – How Howler Bros. balances their identity and values with the need for business growth
  • 46:15 – Separating personal identity from brand identity
  • 49:30 – Balancing initiative and recklessness as it pertains to business progress 
  • 51:30 – Where Rick’s generosity and willingness to help comes from
  • 54:00 – The future of Howler Bros.
  • 58:15 – Rick’s book recommendations
  • 1:03:00 – Rick’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on January 18, 2024 by

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50 Years of the Endangered Species Act – Live in Austin

This is a special live episode that was recorded in Austin, Texas, in November of 2023 at the 50th Anniversary Endangered Species Act Symposium. As you may know, 2023 marked 50 years since the passing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which is one the most influential and impactful pieces of conservation legislation in United States history. This symposium gathered together an impressive and wide range of ESA experts from governmental, non-profit, and for-profit organizations, and we spent the day discussing the ESA’s fascinating and complex past, present, and future. 

Photo by Brittany Wegner

In this episode, we’ll hear from four leaders who have worked in the trenches of conservation for decades, and each of them brings a unique perspective on both the challenges and opportunities that the ESA creates for on-the-ground conservation. The panelists are:

  • Gary Frazer – Assistant Director for Ecological Services at the US Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Peg Romanik – Recently retired high-ranking attorney from the Department of Interior
  • Jimmy Bullock – Senior Vice President at Resource Management Service LLC
  • Leo Miranda-Castro – Former USFWS Director and current Executive Director of Conservation without Conflict

All four of these distinguished panelists have worked extensively within the frameworks of the Endangered Species Act, and they bring a wealth of practical and philosophical knowledge about the ESA’s impact over the past 50 years… and its expected impacts in the future. But perhaps more importantly, these four panelists helped me to appreciate the humanity behind the historic, powerful legislation– the smart, dedicated, conservation-minded leaders whose work has allowed the act to effect change and evolve over the past five decades.

We covered a lot during this hour-long discussion, and highlights include: How the ESA switched from a more punitive to a more collaborative approach; concrete examples of productive, collaborative conservation; working with the extreme opinions about climate change; hopes for the future of market-incentivized species conservation; examining potential political threats to the ESA; the evolution of using the ESA for single species conservation to using it for landscape-scale conservation, advice for young people in the conservation field, and much more.  

This episode was the last panel discussion of the day, so if you’d like to listen to the first three panels, you can do so below. Those earlier sessions include discussions with everyone from one of the ESA’s authors to some of today’s most renowned conservation thought leaders– I really can’t imagine having a more impressive group of conservation practitioners in one room. You can check out the Symposium program, which includes all the details of the day’s event and speaker bios. 

And one more thing: This symposium was organized by the fellows of the James G. Teer Conservation Leadership Institute, which is sponsored by The Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society. The mission of the Teer Institute is to ensure a future legacy of well-trained conservation leaders by providing professional training in leadership skills and contemporary conservation. I was so impressed with all the fellows and left this event feeling very optimistic about the future of conservation in Texas and beyond.

A huge thank you to the fellows and to Dr. Roel Lopez of Texas A&M University for inviting me down to Austin to moderate this panel. It was an honor to be in the same room with all these amazingly inspiring folks. Hope you enjoy!

All photos by Brittany Wegner

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:00 – Introduction
  • 10:15 – Peg describes when the ESA switched from a more punitive to a more collaborative approach
  • 14:45 – Leo’s example of exceptional collaborative conservation
  • 21:00 – How Gary handles extreme opinions about climate change
  • 27:00 – Examples of Jimmy’s work with the ESA that became financially sustainable
  • 31:30 – Hopes for the future of market-incentivized species conservation
  • 34:45 – Examining the security of the ESA
  • 39:00 – Discussing the evolution of using the ESA for single species conservation to using it for landscape-scale conservation
  • 44:30 – The panel’s advice for young people in this field
  • 53:15 – Wrapping up and acknowledgments

Information Referenced:

Earlier Symposium Sessions

Session One – Past
Featuring Jimmy Bullock, Douglas Wheeler, Peg Romanik, and moderated by Roel Lopez
Session Two – Present
Featuring Terry Anderson, Ryan Orndorff, Bryan Arroyo, Dave Tenny, and moderated by Lindsay Martinez
Session Three – Future
Featuring Chad Ellis, Mike Brennan, Mike Leahy, Gian Basili, and moderated by Mike Marshall

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on January 9, 2024 by

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SHED SESSION: 12 Things I Loved in 2023

https://www.patreon.com/posts/shed-session-12-95389124

 Posted on December 30, 2023 by

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Paige Lewis – Durable Conservation, Collective Action, and Strategic Thinking
Paige Lewis

Paige Lewis is the Deputy State Director and Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. In this role, she serves as the chapter’s chief conservation officer and is responsible for leading the development of innovative, large-scale and entrepreneurial solutions to the challenges facing people and nature in Colorado and around the world. Paige brings a unique skill set that combines big-picture thinking with tangible, one-the-ground execution– her work involves creating ambitious, large-scale strategies, while also ensuring that the TNC team has the resources, communication, and support to accomplish its goals.

Over the course of this 2023 podcast series with TNC Colorado, we’ve highlighted both the breadth and depth of the organization’s work in Colorado and beyond. From grassland conservation to sustainable water management to forest health to urban conservation efforts (and much more!), it’s been amazing to learn about the positive impact that TNC is having across such a broad spectrum of pressing environmental issues. And if you’ve wondered, as I have, how TNC successfully aligns so many initiatives, teams, and stakeholders toward common organizational goals, well, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what Paige does!

Paige and I sat down at the TNC office in Boulder just before the holidays and had a fun conversation that looked back at some of the 2023 conservation wins and looked forward toward TNC’s ambitious goals for the future. We started out discussing Paige’s lifelong appreciation for conservation, and her career that took her from her home state of Utah to Washington DC and eventually to Colorado. We discussed her skill of thinking strategically while also focusing on the need to get things done, and how she has managed to keep so many balls in the air year after year. We talk about durable conservation, collective action, and embracing risk, and we also discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with setting ambitious goals. Paige is a voracious reader and lover of history, so she has tons of excellent book recommendations.

A big thank you to Paige for taking the time to chat with me during such a busy time of year, and, once again, thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy.

Header photo by Ethan Herrold/TNC Photo Contest 2019; headshot by Lauryn Wachs.

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

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…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – How Paige became interested in conservation
  • 9:15 – Paige’s first conservation job 
  • 10:45 – Adjusting from the West to DC
  • 11:45 – Paige’s return West
  • 15:00 – How Paige ended up at TNC
  • 18:30 – Paige’s role at TNC
  • 23:30 – An example of successful collaborative work in Paige’s time at TNC
  • 27:15 – What Paige is most proud of in TNC’s 2023 work
  • 30:30 – Reflecting on TNC’s progress towards their 2026 strategic goals
  • 34:30 – How Paige prioritizes and keeps all the balls in the air
  • 39:45 – What “durable conservation” means and looks like to Paige
  • 42:30 – What “collective action” means and looks like to Paige
  • 45:30 – How Paige knows when to shift from ideation and relationship building to action
  • 48:45 – How TNC’s approach to taking risks has changed during Paige’s tenure
  • 52:15 – What qualities Paige thinks makes a good team member at TNC
  • 56:15 – Paige’s book recommendations
  • 1:02:15 – Paige’s parting words

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on December 26, 2023 by

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Jenna Pollard – Timber Framing, Organic Farming, Community, and Purpose

Jenna Pollard is a timber framer, a farmer, and an advocate for organic agriculture, but at her core, she is a teacher. The list of Jenna’s inspiring projects, causes, and interests is too extensive to summarize in a few sentences, but to give you an overview: She hosts workshops for women in which they learn the art of timber framing and build structures as a team from the ground up. She’s a team member with Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (also known as WWOOF), where she helps to provide opportunities for aspiring farmers to build their careers. She’s also a committed traveler, community builder, reader, and all-around inspiring human.

Born and raised in South Dakota, Jenna grew up immersed in the outdoors and various outdoor adventures. After college, she went to work on an organic farm, which began her professional passion for working closely with the land surrounded by a community of like-minded individuals. As you’ll hear, she continued to follow her curiosity and has enjoyed a fulfilling and wide-ranging career– she worked as a teacher in Japan, built her own timber-frame home on the South Dakota prairie, and became deeply involved in helping to develop the skills and confidence of future farmers and timber framers. But if there’s a thread that connects all of Jenna’s work, it’s her commitment to building community through hard work and shared purpose– one of my favorite topics to discuss.

I first learned about Jenna through a short film by Patagonia Workwear that profiled her women’s timber-framing workshops– I’ve linked to the film in the episode notes. So I was thrilled that our schedules aligned so that we could have this conversation, and I learned so much for her. We discussed her upbringing in South Dakota and how her outdoor-focused childhood laid the foundation for her career. We discussed the intricacies of timber framing, and why it is such a powerful skill for building community and confidence. We talk a lot about WWOOF and its Future Farming Program, and Jenna offers some ways that aspiring farmers can get involved. We also discuss books, how Jenna accomplishes so much, how Patagonia has encouraged and supported her work, lessons learned from Japan, and much much more.

If you want to connect with Jenna, attend a workshop, or learn more about WWOOF, there are links to everything in the episode notes. Thanks for listening, hope you enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Jenna Pollard.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 2:30 – Where Jenna grew up
  • 4:15 – What Jenna did for fun as a kid
  • 6:30 – Turning points in Jenna’s life regarding self-sufficiency in the outdoors
  • 8:45 – Post-high school for Jenna
  • 11:00 – How something like WWOOFing drew Jenna’s career attention
  • 13:30 – Books and thinkers that influenced Jenna’s agrarian lifestyle
  • 16:00 – Defining “timber framing,” and exploring why it captured Jenna’s attention
  • 20:00 – When Jenna decided to start teaching timber framing
  • 21:15 – Discussing the process of Jenna building her house in South Dakota
  • 24:45 – How Jenna came to specifically teach women how to timber frame
  • 38:15 – How Patagonia became interested in Jenna’s timber framing classes
  • 30:45 – Continuing to explore the importance of Jenna’s work with women
  • 33:00 – Jenna’s success stories from her classes
  • 37:15 – The relationships that Jenna builds through timber framing
  • 39:15 – Jenna’s students’ goals
  • 40:45 – Discussing WWOOF
  • 43:15 – Discussing the 2024 Future Farming Program
  • 47:15 – How Jenna manages to do all of this!
  • 48:15 – Jenna’s time as a teacher in Japan
  • 52:30 – Whether or not Jenna ever questioned her path
  • 55:15 – Jenna’s book recommendations
  • 1:01:15 – Jenna’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on December 7, 2023 by

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Diana Lane & Aaron Derwingson – Thriving Rivers, Resilient Agriculture, and Strong Communities
Diana Lane

Diana Lane is the Director of Sustainable Food and Water at the Colorado Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and Aaron Derwingson is the Water Projects Director for the Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Program. Both Diana and Aaron work at the intersection of water sustainability, thriving rivers, resilient agriculture, and strong communities– harnessing TNC’s relationships and resources to advance some of the most cutting-edge and effective conservation initiatives in the American West.

Diana and Aaron bring a diverse set of skills and experiences to their work at TNC. Diana holds a PhD in Biological Sciences and has spent much of her career working with a wide array of partners on restoration ecology and planning, climate adaptation, and management of public funding. Aaron is a river guide-turned-conservationist who began his career focusing on conservation in the Rio Grande River basin, and now applies his skills toward creating pragmatic, solution-oriented approaches to freshwater challenges in the greater Colorado River basin. But perhaps most importantly, they both bring a deep level of passion and focus to their work– their optimistic commitment to solving some of the West’s most pressing water and agricultural challenges is infectious.

Aaron Derwingson

Diana, Aaron, and I connected virtually and had an educational and inspiring conversation about water, agriculture, and community here in Colorado and beyond. We discussed some of the most urgent water-related challenges and opportunities and how they are working with a wide range of stakeholders to find mutually beneficial solutions. We discuss the Yampa River fund, their work helping agricultural producers adjust to a drier climate, and the all-important role of building solid relationships with stakeholders. We discussed the Maybell Irrigation Ditch Project, which is a fascinating, win-win project for both producers and recreational river users, and we discussed some of the water-related challenges that keep both Diana and Aaron up and night. And as usual, they both have plenty of excellent book recommendations.  

A huge thank you to Diana and Aaron for taking the time to talk with me, and thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy!

Header photo by Ken Geiger; all photos courtesy of the Nature Conservancy.

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…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Diana and Aaron’s backgrounds
  • 7:30 – Aaron’s read on the future of water
  • 12:30 – Diana’s overview of the Yampa River Fund
  • 18:30 – Aaron’s work with producers to adjust to the new water reality
  • 23:15 – The process of building relationships with producers for water projects
  • 27:00 – The Colorado Water Plan’s impact on Diana and Aaron’s work
  • 31:45  – Discussing the Yampa River Fund
  • 41:15 – The things about Colorado water that keep Diana and Aaron up at night
  • 47:15 – What makes a solid conservation professional
  • 51:00 – How you can help TNC in this work
  • 55:30 – Diana and Aaron’s book recommendations
  • 1:00:00 – Parting requests and words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on November 28, 2023 by

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John Vaillant – A Riveting Exploration of Fire
John Vaillant
(photo credit: John Sinal)

John Vaillant is a renowned writer and journalist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and more, and he’s also the author of classic books including The Tiger and The Golden Spruce. His most recent book is titled Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World, which is a must-read for anyone interested in wildfires, humans’ relationship with fire, and the future of fire-related disasters. And you don’t have to take my word for it– the book won the 2023 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction.

Fire Weather tells the story of the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire– a historic and apocalyptic fire that torched the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and spread across nearly 1.5 million acres of forest. With this epic disaster as the focal point, John masterfully weaves in the fascinating histories of fire, the fossil fuel industry, and climate science. He also explores 21st-century wildfires– why they are hotter, more aggressive, and more destructive than anything we’ve seen before. Whether you’re interested in the science of fire and forest health, the fascinating relationship between humans and fire, or you’re just looking for a book that you won’t be able to put down, I give Fire Weather my highest endorsement.

Wildfires are obviously becoming more and more intense and destructive here in the West, so I was excited to chat with John and dig deeper into the history of fire and the outlook for the future. We discussed why he decided to devote many years to writing about this particular wildfire, and how the book’s ingenious structure came to him in a dream. We talk about the similarities between living beings and fire, a fascinating idea known as the Lucretius Problem, some of the story’s larger-than-life characters, John’s long-term goals for the book, some of his favorite books, and much, much more.

A huge thanks to John for writing such an impactful book and for taking the time to chat with me. I encourage you to pick up a copy of Fire Weather as soon as you can, but in the meantime, enjoy this wide-ranging conversation with John Vaillant.

Header photo: Chris Schwarz / Government of Alberta / Reuters; Headshot: John Sinal

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – When John realized he wanted to write about fire
  • 11:15 – The surprising significance of dreams in John’s writing
  • 14:15 – How John organizes the information in his head so he can write
  • 19:45 – A brief note on pacing, and the similarities between living beings and fire
  • 30:45 – The Lucretius Problem
  • 35:45 – How John finds the characters for his book
  • 44:15 – How John handles writing about someone in a less-than-flattering light
  • 52:00 – John’s goals for his book, Fire Weather
  • 57:30 – John’s book recommendations
  • 1:02:15 – John’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on November 20, 2023 by

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Dr. Sara Dant Returns – “Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West”
Dr. Sara Dant

Dr. Sara Dant is a Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of history at Weber State University, and she’s the author of one of my most-often recommended books, Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West. She is also one of the featured historians in Ken Burns’ newest documentary, The American Buffalo, which you can watch for free on the PBS website. Sara’s work focuses on environmental politics in the United States with a particular emphasis on the creation and development of consensus and bipartisanism, and she is especially skilled at presenting complex, sometimes controversial topics in an engaging and fun-to-learn manner.

In June of 2023, Sara updated and republished her book Losing Eden– she added some chapters, revised some of the content, and added lots of maps, photos, and additional resources. She somehow managed to make one of my favorite books even better. For anyone who is looking for a thorough yet fun-to-read overview of this complex region known as the American West, I can’t recommend it enough. From the migration of the first humans into North America to modern-day controversies around energy development, the book provides a solid foundation and acts as a launching point to dig into whatever specific time period you may find interesting.

Longtime listeners will remember my first conversation with Sara back in 2018, in which we discussed the early phases of North American environmental history, the tragedy of the commons, conservation vs preservation, and more. In this conversation, we focus on mostly recent environmental history, including the historic environmental legislation of the 1960s and 70s, legendary senator Frank Church, and the backlash to environmental regulation that led to movements such as the Sagebrush Rebellion. We also discuss Sara’s perspective-shifting Alaska adventure, the value of wild places, her experience working with Ken Burns, book recommendations, and much, much more.

I always enjoy my visits with Sara, and I can’t thank her enough for how generous she is with sharing her time, wisdom, and expertise. I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of the new Losing Eden, but in the meantime, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Sara Dant.

Photos courtesy of Sara Dant.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Why Sara decided to republish Losing Eden
  • 7:00 – The guiding idea of “At what cost?”
  • 10:00 – The myth of “right or wrong,” “good or bad”
  • 16:15 – Using history to understand our current political situation
  • 19:30 – Optimistic examples of positive political environmental bipartisanship
  • 23:30 – The legendary Idaho senator, Frank Church
  • 28:00 – James Watt and the backlash to environmental regulation
  • 34:00 – Divisiveness as a power-grabbing tool
  • 43:00 – Sara’s 2019 life-changing trip to Alaska
  • 46:30 – What is the value of wild places?
  • 54:15 – Participating in the new Ken Burns documentary
  • 56:30 – Something new that Sara has recently learned
  • 1:02:30 – Book recommendations and further reading
  • 1:10:30 – Parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on November 10, 2023 by

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Corissa Busse – Tribal-Led Buffalo Restoration in the American West and Beyond
Corissa Busse

Corissa Busse is the Buffalo Restoration Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy, where she oversees TNC’s work to advance Tribal-led efforts to restore buffalo, grasslands, and communities at scale. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, Corissa and her team at TNC partner with organizations including the InterTribal Buffalo Council and the Tanka Fund to bring buffalo back to tribal lands, which not only contributes to healthier, more resilient landscapes, but helps to heal and restore a web of natural relationships that has been broken for hundreds of years.

TNC has been working with buffalo for many decades now, and it owns herds at numerous TNC preserves across the United States. Each year, those herds produce approximately 1,500 buffalo that are in need of new homes, so TNC has begun working with Tribal nations to transfer these buffalo from the TNC preserves onto Native lands. But transferring the animals from one place to another is relatively simple– it’s the trust-building, infrastructure development, and long-term, collaborative vision that requires strong relationships and outside-the-box thinking. As you’ll hear in this conversation, it’s a complex and important project with amazing potential.

I’ve always loved learning about buffalo, and given the recent release of Ken Burns’ newest documentary on this very subject, I was extra excited to chat with Corissa. We started out with the most basic question of all– “Should we call them bison or buffalo?”– and then moved into the more complex topics. We discussed when and why TNC initially became interested in buffalo, TNC’s history of working with Tribal partners, the challenges of overcoming historical realities, the potential for tension between cattle and buffalo producers, specific success stories from TNC’s buffalo restoration work, the all-important role of strong relationships, resources to learn more about buffalo, and Corissa offers some excellent book recommendations.

I greatly appreciate Corissa taking the time out of her busy schedule to educate me on the finer details of buffalo as well as the large-scale vision for TNC’s work. I learned a lot from this conversation, and I know you will too.  Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.

Header photo by John Fielder courtesy of The Nature Conservancy, headshot courtesy of Corissa Busse

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

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…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Is it buffalo or bison?
  • 6:30 – A brief history of buffalo in the US
  • 10:30 – Books and resources that have helped Corissa learn more about the history of buffalo 
  • 13:45 – TNC’s interest in buffalo
  • 17:00 – TNC’s history of relationship-building with Tribal nation partners
  • 22:15 – How buffalo from TNC’s herds are transferred to other partners
  • 23:30 – Exploring the tension between cattle and buffalo businesses
  • 27:15 – Examples of the success of Corissa’s program
  • 31:15 – Measuring success in this work
  • 35:00 – The challenges in this work that Corissa worries about
  • 39:15 – The market for buffalo
  • 42:15 – How Corissa got into work with buffalo
  • 48:00 – The importance of relationships to Corissa’s work
  • 52:30 – Corissa’s book recommendations
  • 56:00 – Ways you can support Corissa’s work, and Corissa’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on October 31, 2023 by

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Vincent Stanley – Lessons Learned from Patagonia’s First Fifty Years
Vincent Stanley`

Vincent Stanley is the Director of Philosophy at Patagonia, and he holds the honor of being the company’s longest-serving employee. He is also an author, poet, and a resident fellow at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. His most recent book, which he co-authored with Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, is titled The Future of the Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned from Patagonia’s First 50 Years. 

The book recounts Patagonia’s evolution from its humble beginnings as a small offshoot of Chouinard Equipment for Alpinists to becoming the world’s premiere outdoor apparel brand into its current role of serving as a blueprint for how business can be a force for good in the world. In less than 200 pages, Vincent delves into Patagonia’s greatest business challenges, victories, and missteps, and he explains Patagonia’s never-ending quest to become more responsible, more thoughtful, and more effective in achieving its mission of “saving our home planet.”

My first real exposure to Patagonia’s business model was when I was a student in graduate school, earning my MBA. I read Yvon’s book Let My People Go Surfing, and realized that many of the business lessons and philosophies from Patagonia stood in stark contrast to those of mega-corporations. Patagonia’s approach opened my mind to a different way of thinking about business, one that led me to follow a much different path than I’d planned when I initially showed up at grad school.  So it was a real honor to have the conversation with Vincent and dig even deeper into the philosophies, ideals, and tactics that have made Patagonia such a legendary enigma in the world of big-time business– and a role model for me and countless other business owners.

Vincent and I connected virtually– he was in Maine, I was in Colorado– and we talked about all aspects of the book, as well as his long and storied history at Patagonia. You can check out the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed, and I would highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Future of the Responsible Company– it’s chock full of actionable, applicable wisdom that anyone with a job would benefit from knowing.

Thanks to Vincent for taking the time to chat, thanks to you for listening, and I hope you enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Patagonia

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:00 – How Vincent became involved in Patagonia
  • 7:00 – Why Vincent and Yvon decided to update The Responsible Company, and a history of changes at Patagonia
  • 24:00 – When Vincent realized there was interest in and demand for the business model and values of Patagonia
  • 28:00 – Differentiating between “responsible” and “sustainable”
  • 31:00 – How Vincent and Patagonia approach the work of marketing
  • 34:30 – The unconventional business performance indicators and evaluations that Patagonia employs
  • 37:15 – Why books are important in Vincent and Patagonia’s work
  • 41:15 – Who and what gives Vincent hope for the future
  • 44:15 – Reconciling the guilt of “messing up”
  • 50:15 – Vincent’s book recommendations
  • 53:00 – Vincent’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on October 24, 2023 by

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Rebecca Clarren – “The Cost of Free Land”
Rebecca Clarren
(photo credit: Shelby Brakken)

Rebecca Clarren is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about the American West for more than twenty years. Her most recent book is titled The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance. The book is a powerful, nuanced, and deeply personal exploration of her ancestors fleeing antisemitism in Russia and immigrating to the South Dakota prairie at the turn of the 20th century. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the book, and I absolutely loved it. Rebecca seamlessly weaves together heavily researched US and Native American history with a vulnerable, clear-eyed examination of her family’s legacy. The result is an engaging story that not only helped me better understand the past, but provided a blueprint for how we can begin to make amends and move forward, both individually and as a nation.

In The Cost of Free Land, Rebecca grapples with the complicated ripple effects of her family settling on the Great Plains– the free land that they received from the US government allowed them to establish a foothold in America, and over time, they found relative stability, especially when compared to their chaotic lives in Russia. But her family’s stability and eventual success came at a steep cost to the Lakota people, who were the victims of stolen land, broken treaties, and the devastating loss of their culture and resources. Contrasting her family’s experience with that of the Lakota makes this story all the more powerful, and speaks volumes about Rebeccs’s skill as a writer and journalist. Again, I loved the book.

Rebecca and I connected the day before the book was published, and we had a wonderful conversation. We started by discussing why she decided to write such a deeply personal story, and how that differs from most of her previous journalistic endeavors. She provides a brief overview of the Lakota people and the laundry list of injustices they faced during westward expansion. We discuss the complicated nature of land ownership on reservations, and how those complications continue even to this day. She explains how the US’s treatment of Native American influenced Hitler and the Nazi Party, and how she personally processes her family’s role in Westward expansion by working with spiritual mentors and exploring her own Jewish faith. We also talk about her career as a journalist, how motherhood has changed her, the challenge of writing, and she has lots of great book recommendations.

Thanks to Rebecca for writing such an important and eye-opening book, and thank you for listening.  Hope you enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Rebecca Clarren and Viking Books.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:15 – When Rebecca decided to write “The Cost of Free Land”
  • 9:15 – Discussing the vulnerable process of capturing not just Rebecca’s story, but her entire family’s story and how it ties in with American histories of stolen land
  • 18:15 – Discussing empathy in the difficult stories of Rebecca’s book
  • 21:30 – A brief history of the Lakota and the injustices they faced during westward expansion
  • 27:00 – Discussing the complicated nature of land ownership on Indigenous reservations, and how the US Government still influences land decisions on reservations
  • 30:45 – Discussing the historical implications of US land theft from Indigenous peoples, including how it influenced the actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust
  • 33:15 – The Six Steps of Repentance and how Rebecca processes the violent past of the US and how she benefited from it  
  • 40:45 – The biggest surprise about Rebecca’s family that she learned in writing this book
  • 43:15 – Surprises in Rebecca’s research about the Lakota
  • 48:00 – Where Rebecca thinks the world of journalism is going
  • 51:15 – Rebecca’s career trajectory
  • 55:15 – How having kids impacted Rebecca’s approach to work
  • 58:30 – The difficulty of writing
  • 59:30 – Rebecca’s book recommendations
  • 1:05:45 – Rebecca’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on October 10, 2023 by

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Nick Offerman – Empathy, Nuance, & Good Hard Work
Nick Offerman

Nick Offerman is an actor, author, humorist, and woodworker who is best known for playing the legendary character Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. But his success as an actor is just the tip of the iceberg– he’s written five New York Times bestselling books, is the narrator of three of Wendell Berry’s audiobooks, and owns and operates Offerman Woodshop, where he and a small collective of woodworkers handcraft everything from spoons to furniture to canoes. And as many of you know, Nick is a staunch advocate for conservation, responsible land stewardship, and sustainable agriculture.

Nick’s most recent book is titled Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside, and it’s an excellent, thought-provoking read. It follows Nick on a series of adventures through the American West and English countryside– adventures driven by his desire to better understand conservation, recreation, and humans’ connection to the land and wild places. Along the way, he explores everything from the legacies of John Muir and Aldo Leopold to regenerative agriculture, without shying away from tough, complex topics, such as industrial farming and the conservation movement’s impact on Indigenous cultures. The book also hits on so many underlying ideas that are often explored here on Mountain & Prairie, including nuance, empathy, compassion, curiosity, and doing work that makes the world a better place. I loved the book, and I highly recommend it.

Nick & Ed at Offerman Woodshop

I met up with Nick in Los Angeles at Offerman Woodshop, and we had a fun, inspiring, and at times hilarious conversation about everything from Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic to Nick’s work as a “traveling clown.” (His words, not mine!) We started out by discussing the life-changing moment when a friend handed him a Wendell Berry book, and how Wendell’s writings and philosophy continue to be one of Nick’s most important sources of inspiration and instruction to this day. We discuss why hard work and being of service to others are so deeply embedded in Nick’s DNA, and the critical role that artists can play in solving societal challenges. We talk about authenticity, the importance of being even-keeled, the need for nuance and open-mindedness, the skill of self-deprecation, enjoying the process of creating, not passing judgment, and much, much more.

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play was just released in paperback, so follow the links in the episode notes to pick up a copy. If you’re a longtime listener, I know you’ll love it. There are also links to Offerman Woodshop, Nick’s touring schedule, and all of his other books, so click through and check it all out.

A thousand thanks to Nick for inviting me to his shop for such an amazing conversation, and thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy.

Header photo of Nick in Glacier National Park by George Saunders, headshot by Taylor Miller.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – A self-deprecation showdown
  • 5:30 – The impact of Wendell Berry on Nick’s life
  • 10:15 – Of Nick’s family and upbringing, and tying back to Wendell Berry
  • 15:15 – Nick telling the story of when he “made it,” and how that impacted his work ethic
  • 18:30 – Of the ethos of taking the time to do hard things
  • 23:15 – The impact of a conversation between Nick and Wendell Berry
  • 29:00 – More about Nick’s book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
  • 42:15 – How Nick discusses serious topics with a lighthearted demeanor
  • 47:30 – How Aldo Leopold influenced Nick
  • 51:45 – A great story about Wendell Berry and the need for artists
  • 55:15 – How and when Nick developed his authenticity 
  • 1:02:00 – The two jokes Nick has written in his career
  • 1:05:45 – What good work looks like
  • 1:18:00 – Discussing how to pronounce words and the importance of not passing judgment
  • 1:23:15 – Coming back to “good work”

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on October 3, 2023 by

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Matt Cahill – A Deep Dive into the Sagebrush Sea
Matt Cahill

Matt Cahill is the Sagebrush Sea Program Director for the Nature Conservancy. Based out of Bend, Oregon, Matt leads all of TNC’s critical work restoring, managing, and protecting sagebrush habitat across six western states. This is a huge and complex effort– it combines protection and policy work with ground-breaking restoration advances, public and industry partnerships, and local community projects. But as you’ll hear in this conversation, Matt is optimistically leaning into the challenge and making great strides to protect this uniquely Western ecosystem.

To give you some context into the vastness of North America’s sagebrush ecosystem, it spans 150 million acres and is home to 350 rare, threatened, and endangered species. Since 1998, 14 million acres of sagebrush ecosystems have been lost, and currently, we’re losing approximately one million acres to invasive species, catastrophic wildfires, development, improper grazing, and climate change. 70% of the Sagebrush Sea is found on public lands, so efforts to protect, manage, and restore the ecosystem are dependent on creative, action-oriented public-private partnerships. Again, Matt is leading a huge and complex effort!

In this episode, we start our conversation by discussing why the Sagebrush Sea is important, and why even people who live far from the ecosystem should care about it. We discuss the history of the threats to sagebrush, and we also do a deep dive into the specific threat of cheatgrass– a true scourge on the landscapes of the West. We discuss the ecology of sagebrush, how TNC measures success when it comes to protecting such a fragile ecosystem, and the importance of partnering with ranchers. We talk about the efficacy of for-profit approaches to restoration, collaboration with government agencies, and specific cutting-edge approaches to restoration. Matt also explains his career trajectory that led him from the East Coast to becoming obsessed with sagebrush, and he offers several great book recommendations.

Be sure to check out the episode notes for links to everything we discuss, including a few videos and writings by Matt that will provide even more context into this nuanced issue. Thanks to Matt and his team for all of their hard work, and thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy.

Photos courtesy of The Nature Conservancy

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

Download on Apple Podcasts

Download on Spotify

Download on Google Podcasts

…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Description of the Sagebrush Sea
  • 7:45 – Why sagebrush matters
  • 10:30 – The state of the Sagebrush Sea and how it got there
  • 15:15 – Cheatgrass’s impact on the Sagebrush Sea
  • 23:30 – TNC’s Sagebrush Sea program
  • 26:45 – Exploring the restoration aspect of Matt’s work
  • 33:15 – The restoration timeline for sagebrush regions
  • 35:30 – Measuring restoration success
  • 39:00 – The management portion of Matt’s work
  • 41:30 – Matt’s success stories of collaborating with ranchers
  • 46:00 – The land protection (acquisition, easement, etc.) portion of Matt’s work
  • 49:15 – Evaluating the for-profit wing of conservation of sage grouse habitat
  • 43:15 – Discussing TNC’s collaboration across its own programs as well as with government land managers
  • 57:00 – How Matt ended up an expert in sagebrush biomes when he grew up on the East Coast
  • 1:00:30 – Matt’s book recommendations
  • 1:04:00 – Matt’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on September 26, 2023 by

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James Prosek – Art, Philosophy, & Our Natural World
James Prosek in Texas

James Prosek is an artist, writer, and naturalist whose work deeply examines our relationship with the natural world. Over the course of his career, he’s focused his artist’s eye and philosopher’s mind on everything from trout to eels, from birds to ocean fishes. For the past two years, he’s been focused on understanding and documenting the grasslands of Texas, and he’s traveled the state examining the diverse plants and wildlife that call the prairie ecosystem home. Beginning on September 16, 2023, the results of his journey around Texas will be on display at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, in his new exhibition titled Trespassers: James Prosek and the Texas Prairie. 

James was born in Connecticut and, as you’ll hear in our conversation, much of his childhood was spent obsessed with birds, fish, and fishing. He attended Yale Univesity, where at age 19 he published his first book titled Trout: An Illustrated History, which featured seventy of his watercolor paintings of the trout of North America. From there, his curiosity about the natural world continued to intensify, as evidenced by his prolific production of art and writing for many renowned museums and publications. He has also lent his talents to a variety of conservation efforts, most notably his partnership with Yvon Chionard to protect coldwater fisheries habitat. 

James and I share many mutual friends and interests, so it was wonderful to connect with him for this conversation. It’ll only take you a few minutes of listening to realize that James is a deep thinker whose art is the manifestation of his extremely nuanced and fascinating ideas and philosophies. We started out talking about his first memory of interacting with nature, and how he has used drawing and journaling as tools to better understand plants, animals, and concepts. We discuss how the idea of naming plants and animals is an imperfect science, how drawing connects us with our evolutionary past, how philosophy and philosophical thinking inform all of his art, grasslands in Texas, the importance of understanding and respecting place, how James snaps out of creative slumps, his writing process, and he offers plenty of book recommendations. 

As is the case with so many of my guests, I could’ve talked to James for many more hours. So thankfully, this conversation is part one of what will be a two-episode series with James. The second episode will be a live event at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, on Thursday, January 11, 2024. We’ll be continuing this conversation, and we’ll be focusing in more detail on his exploration of the Texas Prairie and his new exhibition, Trespassers. We’ll be releasing more information about this event soon, but I’d love to see some of you at the event in Fort Worth on January 11.

A huge thank you to James for his inspiring art, to the Amon Carter Museum for the opportunity to chat with James, and to all of you for listening. Enjoy!

Two pieces from the new exhibition, “Trespassers”

Photos courtesy of James Prosek and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:15 – James’ first memory of interacting with nature
  • 7:00 – When journaling and drawing became standard practices for James
  • 10:15 – James’ view on drawing and its connection to our evolutionary past as hunters 
  • 15:15 – How drawing fish made James a better angler
  • 20:45 – How names affect our thinking about other organisms
  • 24:15 – The art that James engaged in parallel to fishing
  • 28:00 – How James sharpens his philosophy 
  • 39:45 – James’ writing process
  • 43:00 – How James establishes connections with places
  • 1:00:15 – Whether or not James has gone through an artistic slump
  • 1:10:00 – James’ parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on September 13, 2023 by

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Anna Borgman – Obsession, Curiosity, and Purpose-Driven Work
Anna Borgman
Photo by Chloe Nostrant

Anna Borgman is a Montana-based butcher, chef, and writer whose work focuses on helping people better understand and appreciate the origins of their food. Whether writing an article for Steven Rinella’s MeatEater or helping to field harvest and process a bison, Anna has a gift for helping curious, conscientious people become more educated about the impacts of their food choices. And as you’ll hear in this conversation, her enthusiasm and authenticity are infectious– even after more than an hour of chatting, I felt we only scratched the surface.

Anna grew up in Oregon, and thanks to participation in 4H, she was involved with animals and livestock from an early age. During her teenage years, skiing became her primary passion, and she devoted much of her post-college life to spending as many days as possible in the mountains, oftentimes working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Eventually, through a serendipitous chain of events that we discuss, she found her way into culinary school, which was her gateway into the world of meat and butchery. Through all the various stages of Anna’s career, she’s brought intense devotion– possibly even obsession– to her work, which has resulted in a fascinating life trajectory that is both inspiring and instructive.

Anna and I share so many mutual friends and I’ve been hearing about her and her work for many years, so I was thrilled to have her finally join me for a conversation. We started out discussing her childhood in Oregon and how skiing became her primary focus for so many years. We discuss some of her adventurous international travel experiences, and how those places and the characters she met led her into the world of food. We discuss the upsides of obsession, advice for getting out of ruts, the value of curiosity, and the importance of experiencing other cultures. She also talks in detail about the realities of slaughtering livestock, why she feels such a connection to butchery, her favorite books, and much more.

Even though this was my first time meeting Anna, I felt like I was chatting with an old friend. I’m super-inspired by all of her work, but even more inspired by the focus and passion she brings to everything she does. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Photos courtesy of Anna Borgman and Chloe Nostrant

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:00 – What Anna wanted to be when she grew up
  • 7:30 – When Anna realized that most livestock she raised would led to slaughter 
  • 10:00 – Anna’s interest in skiing and how it led her to work with a French cook in Australia and adventures in Spain
  • 16:30 – Anna’s experience in culinary school
  • 20:15 – Why so many interesting people have pastry making on their resume
  • 22:15 – When Anna became interested in butchery, and whether or not working long days in culinary school made Anna feel more content
  • 25:45 – The importance of having an obsession
  • 28:45 – Anna’s advice for getting out of a rut 
  • 32:00 – The scariest things that have happened to Anna during international travel, as well as the lessons travel taught her
  • 38:30 – When Anna went all in on butchery
  • 43:00 – The process of slaughtering and butchering
  • 46:30 – Anna’s first slaughter
  • 51:45 – Lessons from butchery
  • 57:00 – The value of curiosity 
  • 59:45 – Discussing Forage Fed
  • 1:03:45 – Anna’s book recommendations
  • 1:09:00 – Anna’s guilty pleasures (or lack thereof)
  • 1:14:00 – Anna’s parting words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on September 1, 2023 by

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Carrie Segil & Duncan Gilchrist – Catalyzing Conservation in Colorado and Beyond
Carrie Segil

Carrie Segil is the People and Culture Manager at The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, and Duncan Gilchrist is a Climate and Natural Resources Policy Associate at The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. Both Carrie and Duncan are deeply involved with TNC Colorado’s Catalyst Fund, a cutting-edge conservation funding initiative that supports forward-looking projects that enable innovation and rapid learning, both to test new ideas and to build greater capacity for innovation over the long term.

One of the Catalyst Fund’s most notable projects involves agrivoltaics, which is the simultaneous use of land for both solar energy production and agriculture. The project is called the Agrivoltaics Retrofit Partnership, and it’s a Boulder-based partnership between TNC, Jack’s Solar Garden, Drylands Agroecology Research, Boulder Housing Partners, and a conservation-justice / community outreach partner called FLOWS. The project aims to achieve multiple conservation and community objectives, including restoring degraded land, producing perennial plants with medicinal, economic, and indigenous cultural value, and providing a host of benefits to local marginalized community members– benefits that we discuss in this episode.

Duncan Gilchrist

In this episode, we talk in detail about this specific agrivoltaics project, as well as some of the other innovative projects that are being pushed forward thanks to support from the Catalyst Fund. We discussed how and why TNC Colorado decided to create the Catalyst Fund in the first place, and the need to push boundaries and take risks in the conservation space. Carrie offers insights into specific Catalyst projects, such as virtual fencing for bison, and Duncan discusses all the details about this agrivoltaics project– including the genesis of the idea, the challenges of the projects, and why it has proven to be so successful and replicable. We also discuss how policy on the state and federal level is creating more opportunities for agrivoltaics, why it garners bipartisan support, and lessons learned from all of the Catalyst Fund projects.

I was so impressed with Carrie and Duncan’s enthusiasm, professionalism, and commitment to innovation, and I learned so much from this conversation. Be sure to check out the episode notes to learn more about everything we discussed, and please share this episode with any friends or colleagues who might find it valuable.  Thanks so much for listening, I hope you enjoy!

Photos courtesy of The Nature Conservancy

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

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Download on Google Podcasts

…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – An overview of the Catalyst Fund
  • 7:00 – Talking to funders about the Catalyst Fund
  • 8:45 – How TNC evaluates what it is looking for regarding the Catalyst Fund
  • 10:30 – Duncan’s project
  • 12:45 – Duncan’s job before his agrivoltaics project
  • 14:45 – More on Duncan’s project and his site
  • 19:00 – About Boulder Housing Partners, and how they reacted to Duncan’s idea
  • 20:30 – How Duncan worked to turn the rocky land he was working into agricultural land
  • 22:30 – The outlook for Duncan’s project, and how it stacks up against his expectations
  • 25:00 – The federal and state (CO) push for more projects like Duncan’s
  • 28:00 – Why agrivoltaics seems to garner bipartisan support
  • 29:30 – Why everyone isn’t doing agrivoltaics 
  • 31:30 – The potential for grazing under agrivoltaics
  • 32:30 – Other synergies between solar energy and agriculture
  • 33:30 – Carrie’s outlook on Duncan’s project, and some other projects funded by the Catalyst Fund
  • 36:45 – What it’s like for TNC to work with external partners
  • 37:45 – Other projects funded through the Catalyst Funds
  • 40:00 – Big lessons from the Catalyst Fund project
  • 45:00 – The power of advocating for policy
  • 47:15 – Where the Catalyst Fund is going
  • 51:00 – Carrie and Duncan’s book recommendations
  • 53:45 – Closing thoughts

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on August 22, 2023 by

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David James Duncan – Live at the Old Salt Festival
Photos: Anthony Pavkovich

David James Duncan is one of those Western literary legends who needs no introduction to Mountain & Prairie listeners. But for those of you who may be new to the podcast or to Western literature, David is a renowned Montana novelist, activist, and flyfisherman. He’s the author of The River Why and The Brothers K, and his newest novel Sun House hits shelves today. David is also the author of countless nonfiction essays, many of which have been compiled in books such as My Story as Told by Water, River Teeth, and God Laughs & Plays.

This episode was recorded live at the first-annual Old Salt Festival, which was held on the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville, Montana. The festival was a three-day celebration of land stewardship and wild places, and it featured live music, wood-fired cooking, and discussions about conservation, literature, and the power of place. Given that so much of David’s work as an author and activist is heavily influenced by his love of land, water, and wildlife, he brought a wise and thoughtful perspective to the Festival– a perspective that was greatly appreciated by everyone in attendance.

This episode is split into two parts– first is our on-stage conversation, which took place on Saturday morning, followed by two readings from his new novel Sun House, which took place that evening. In our conversation, I focused in on David’s life as a contemplative. We talk about his upbringing in the Pacific Northwest and his eventual move to Montana, which is the place he now considers his home. We discuss the importance of being able to hold two competing ideas in your mind at once, why he felt called to become an activist, why deep friendships are such an important part of his life, and the women who have served as mentors to him. We also talk about his 16-year process of writing Sun House, the difference between creating ideas versus receiving them, what gives David hope for the future, and much more.  

The second part of the episode features two readings from Sun House, both of which were perfectly aligned with the spirit and mood of the Old Salt Festival. From where I was sitting in the crowd, I saw many people tearing up near the end of David’s reading, so I hope the power of his words and the place come through in this audio. It was an extremely special experience that I will not soon forget.

A huge thank you to David for his kindness, generosity, and for all of his contributions to the culture and conservation of the West. Thank you to the Old Salt Festival for giving me this opportunity to talk with David. And thank you for listening.

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of Sun House– it’s available online or in your favorite local bookstore right now!

My advanced copy of David’s new, beautifully epic novel, Sun House

All photos by Anthony Pavkovich

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:30 – Intros
  • 7:30 – Discussing if Montana is home to David
  • 10:30 – How David came to write about Montana
  • 12:30 – How to hold two ideas in your head (the brutal US past and the landscape beauty we see presently)
  • 14:55 – David’s transition from fiction to nonfiction writing
  • 19:30 – Advice on how to take a stand
  • 21:45 – David’s friends
  • 26:30 – David’s women mentors
  • 30:30 – Writing Sun House
  • 34:30 – The benefits and challenges of writing something so emotional as Sun House
  • 38:00 – Whether or not David is creating ideas or receiving them while writing
  • 41:30 – What makes David feel good about the future
  • 43:30 – Reading 1
  • 58:15 – Reading 2

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on August 8, 2023 by

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Erik Glenn Returns – Leadership, Innovation, & Commitment to Conservation
Erik Glenn

This is the 200th episode of Mountain & Prairie, so I decided to celebrate the milestone by bringing back the first-ever M&P guest, my good friend Erik Glenn. Erik is the Executive Director of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, a statewide conservation organization that protects Colorado’s agricultural land, heritage, and families for future generations by conserving working rural landscapes. Erik is also the President of the Partnership of Rangeland Trusts, a collection of nine ag-based, western land trusts who work together to “advocate for the conservation of working lands and western heritage for the benefit and wellbeing of future generations.”

When Erik and I spoke for episode number one all the way back in the spring of 2016, he was only about a year into his role as Executive Director. At that point, the organization had conserved just over 465,000 acres of land in Colorado. Fast forward seven and a half years to today, Erik and his team have added an additional 300,000 acres of conserved land, bringing the total to more than 765,000 acres. But most importantly, CCALT has served as a loyal and trusted partner for more than 400 agricultural families who are deeply committed to conserving Colorado’s western heritage and working landscapes.

I consider Erik a great friend and a wise mentor, and if not for his kindness, encouragement, and counsel, I doubt there would be a Mountain & Prairie, nor would I have ever worked in the conservation world. We sat down at his office in Lakewood and caught up on everything, including: how Erik spurs innovation without losing sight of the basics of land conservation; his thoughts on building culture and retaining the best team members; balancing his own intense work ethic with his desire set reasonable-yet-high expectations for his team; how having kids has changed him; the growth of PORT; his mentors; the evolution of the perception of conservation easements in the ag community; threats and opportunities; book recommendations; and much more.

A big thanks to Erik for letting me use him as a guinea pig for the first episode back in 2016, and for his willingness to join me again for episode 200. But more importantly, thanks to Erik for his leadership and commitment to conservation in Colorado, the West, and beyond. Hope you enjoy!

—

Photos courtesy of CCALT.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – What the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust is
  • 11:00 – How Erik balances innovation with the basics of conservation
  • 15:30 – How Erik actually implements a culture in the workplace
  • 23:30 – How Erik balances his work ethic with the desire to not set unreasonable work expectations for his team
  • 29:30 – How having kids impacted Erik
  • 35:45 – Discussing PORT
  • 46:00 – Discussing whether or not good conservation tools have become good business tools for land owners 
  • 50:00 – Erik’s mentors
  • 58:00 – The biggest threat and opportunity facing conservation
  • 1:10:30 – Erik’s book recommendations
  • 1:13:30 – Erik’s parting words

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full, searchable list of episodes

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 Posted on August 4, 2023 by

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SHED SESSION: Everything I Know About Landing a Job in the Conservation World

For many years now, listeners have been emailing me with lots of different versions of the same basic question:

“How do I get a job in the conservation world?” 

Some of the inquiries come from college students or young professionals, while others come from folks who are deep into a specific career path but want to make a change. I’m always happy to receive these messages, and I’m flattered that anyone would think I have valuable advice to offer.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to provide what I believe to be a suitable answer, mainly because I could not do the question justice within the constraints of email or social media. And over the last few years, the volume of messages has reached a point that I simply cannot keep up with it all– so if you’ve reached out and I have not responded, my sincere apologies.

For (at least) the past three years, I’ve been considering answering this question in podcast form, thinking the episode could serve as a detailed resource for anyone who asked the question… and for those who will in the future. But I’ve procrastinated or rationalized reasons not to, mainly because I felt extremely uncomfortable about sitting by myself, blabbing my thoughts and ideas into a microphone. I never want to come off as a know-it-all or some kind of wannabe internet guru.

But the volume of the incoming messages kept increasing, so I finally decided to put my ego and self-consciousness aside and just answer the question in podcast form.

I wrote an eight-page outline that laid out everything I know about finding a job in the conservation world, then I sat down in The Shed and let ‘er rip. The result is a ridiculously long soliloquy in which I put it all out there. I’m calling it a Shed Session.

Please keep in mind that this episode is simply a recounting of my own personal and professional experience– it’s not some kind of one-size-fits-all “hack” that will lead you directly to your dream job. I’ve long said that I am the last person anyone should be asking for career advice, and there are certainly tons of people who are much more experienced and accomplished in conservation than I am.

But for those of you who did ask, this episode is for you. I lay it all out, including: my specific career path; my specific job in the conservation field; skills that are needed in the conservation sector; why relationship building is the most important skill; how I built a deep and broad network in Colorado despite only knowing one person when I moved here in 2010; why I think networks are the most valuable assets, what I looked for when I was hiring for conservation roles; what you should look for (and avoid) in conservation organizations; pros and cons of working in non-profit conservation, book recommendations, and more. Links to everything are in the episode notes.

Again, all of this is just my personal experience and my possibly weird ideas about doing purpose-driven work. For those of you who have reached out, I hope this adds some value. For everyone else, we’ll be back to the regularly scheduled interviews later this week.

Thanks for listening!

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WATCH ON PATREON:

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:12 – Intro, Questions, and Goals
  • 10:20 – Disclaimers
  • 13:58 – Discussion outline
  • 15:45 – My career path
  • 19:53 – My specific job in conservation
  • 22:30 – How I built a network from scratch
  • 40:01 – Advice on how to build a network
  • 48:55 – What I looked for when I was hiring
  • 54:39 – What you should look for in a conservation organization
  • 1:05:51 – Book Recommendations
  • 1:15:05 – Pros and cons
  • 1:22:22 – Closing thoughts

Information Referenced:

To check out dozens of past episodes featuring conservationists from around the West, visit the podcast page and choose “conservationists” from the dropdown menu!
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 Posted on August 1, 2023 by

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Lorelei Cloud – Solving Modern-Day Challenges with Ancient Tribal Wisdom
Vice Chairman Lorelei Cloud
Photo: Jeremy Wade Shockley

Lorelei Cloud is a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council. Lorelei’s commitment to conservation, leadership development, and Ute language, traditions, and culture is evident by the staggering number of leadership roles she holds– she is Co-Chairman of the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network, a Board Trustee for the Nature Conservancy, and serves on the Colorado River Basin’s Water & Tribes Initiative. Earlier this year, she was appointed by the Governor of Colorado to serve on the Colorado Water Conservation Board (“CWCB”), making her the first-ever Tribal member of the board.

Lorelei was born and raised on the Southern Ute Reservation, which is located in the far southwestern corner of Colorado. From the very beginning, water has played a central role in Lorelei’s life– much of her childhood was spent without running water and access to drinking water continues to be a challenge on the Reservation to this day. Much of Lorelei’s early career was spent working in various businesses, including banking and energy, all while being a mother and raising four children. In 2015, she was elected to the Tribal Council, which began this new phase of her life and career– a phase devoted to serving her Tribal Community, as well as the communities, landscapes, and natural resources of the American West.

I’ve been hearing such great things about Lorelei for years, so I was honored to have the opportunity to chat with her on the podcast. We enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation about her upbringing on the Southern Ute Reservation, the history of the Southern Ute Tribe, her recent appointment to the CWCB, why she decided to devote herself to public service, the goals of the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network, her work with the Nature Conservancy, the need to elevate Tribal voices on issues of water and land conservation in the West and beyond, advice for aspiring leaders, her favorite books, ways the listeners can get involved and support the work of the Southern Ute Tribe, and much more.

Be sure to check out the episode notes for a full list of topics discussed and links to everything. A huge thanks to Lorelei for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk with me and for her deep commitment to doing such impactful work in Colorado and beyond. Enjoy!

Header photo by Trennie Collins, Portrait by Jeremy Wade Shockley

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

Download on Apple Podcasts

Download on Spotify

Download on Google Podcasts

…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Lorelei’s youth on the Southern Ute Reservation
  • 6:15 – How Lorelei’s family would get water
  • 8:15 – Lorelei’s childhood personality, school years, and early jobs
  • 13:30 – Whether or not Lorelei wanted to stay on the reservation
  • 15:30 – A brief Ute history
  • 19:00 – How Lorelei’s appointment as the first Indigenous representative on the CWCB
  • 22:15 – What the CWCB does
  • 27:30 – How Lorelei decided to pursue public service
  • 30:15 – About the Indigenous Women’s Leadership Network
  • 34:00 – Lorelei’s advice for aspiring leaders
  • 36:15 – Lorelei’s mentors
  • 40:30 – About Lorelei’s role as Vice Chairman of the Southern Ute Tribe
  • 43:00 – How Lorelei became involved with TNC and how she evaluates whether or not to pursue a professional opportunity
  • 48:15 – Whether or not Deb Haaland has elevated Tribal voices through her work
  • 52:00 – Lorelei’s book recommendations
  • 55:00 – How you can help Lorelei’s work
  • 56:00 – Lorelei’s words of wisdom

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on July 25, 2023 by

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Christy Sing Robertson – On Grit, Hard Work, & Going All In
Christy Sing Robertson
photo credit: Alexandra Rapadas Munger

Christy Sing Robertson is a hatmaker and the founder and owner of Sing Hat Company. Based in Jackson, Wyoming, Christy has evolved rather quickly from making a few hats for herself and several friends into becoming one of the most popular and sought-after hat makers in the West. Whether she’s hand-shaping palm leaf hats for hundreds of people at events such as last month’s Old Salt Festival or creating a custom felt hat for a 5th generation rancher or celebrity musician, Christy’s humility, curiosity, and commitment to the craft have allowed her to stand out in the crowded field of custom hatmakers.

Christy was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, and she stayed there for the first half of her career, working as a high-performing salesperson in the insurance industry. But despite her success in the conventional and lucrative world of sales, she felt called to the West and decided to uproot her life and move to Jackson, Wyoming. Even though she moved to Jackson without knowing a soul, she managed to establish roots and build a fulfilling life centered around motherhood, hard work, and leading a thoughtful, intentional life. And along the way, just as she felt a calling to move to Wyoming, she felt called to make hats– so she went all-in. Today, Christy’s hats– and her long list of customers– demonstrate the amazing success she’s achieved in a relatively short amount of time.

I’ve been following Christy’s work for many years now, so I was thrilled to finally have a chance to chat with her on the podcast. Her story is amazingly inspiring and speaks to the importance of grit, risk-taking, working hard, humility, and trusting your gut. We covered a lot during our hour together, including: her upbringing in Arkansas and her success in the insurance business; the spiritual event that led her to move to Wyoming; how motherhood changed her; the focus and hustle required to make ends meet as a single mother; hunting big game for food; balancing the artistic side of hatmaking with the all-important need to earn a living; the increasing wealth inequality in Jackson; the importance of friendships with other artisans and makers; why imposter syndrome can be a good thing; techniques for keeping an even keel; favorite books; and much more.

If you haven’t checked out Christy’s website or followed her on social media, I recommend that you do– there are links in the episode notes to all of that and everything else we discussed. But in the meantime, I know you’ll enjoy this inspiring and motivational conversation with Christy Sing Robertson.

Photos courtesy of Sing Hat Company, header photo by Jamie Johnson.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:30 – Christy’s childhood
  • 9:00 – Christy’s life post high school
  • 10:45 – When making things clothes came into Christy’s life
  • 12:00 – How Christy came to the Rocky Mountains, and how it changed her
  • 23:00 – What Christy’s work and life was like after moving to Wyoming
  • 25:15 – When hatmaking entered Christy’s life
  • 27:30 – How Christy’s life changed after she had kids
  • 32:00 – How Christy became self-sufficient in hunting
  • 35:30 – Back to hats 
  • 39:00 – Whether or not Christy ever reconsidered her decision to make hats
  • 40:55 – When Christy felt she was good at making hats
  • 42:45 – How relationship building impacted Christy’s business
  • 44:15 – How it went when Christy went full into making hats for a living
  • 46:45 – How Christy manages the prices of Jackson, WY
  • 50:15 – How Christy keeps an even keel
  • 51:30 – How a community of makers has impacted Christy’s journey and career
  • 55:15 – Reflecting on how Christy got where she is in her craft and career
  • 58:45 – Christy’s advice for aspiring makers
  • 1:01:15 – Christy’s vision for Sing Hats
  • 1:05:00 – Christy’s book recommendations
  • 1:07:00 – Christy’s parting words of wisdom

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 Posted on July 14, 2023 by

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Rebuilding a Resilient, Regional Meat Supply Chain – LIVE at the Old Salt Festival
L-R: Ed, Cole Mannix, Kate Kavanaugh, Dan Miller, and Wyatt Nelson (Photo by Anthony Pavkovich)

This is a special live episode that was recorded in late June 2023 at the first-ever Old Salt Festival, which was held on the Mannix Family Ranch in Helmville, Montana. The Old Salt Festival is a three-day celebration of ranching, land stewardship, and wild places that features live Western music, wood-fired cooking, products from some of the West’s most renowned artisans, readings and interviews with Western authors and poets, and in-depth discussions about conservation and land stewardship. The festival was a resounding success, so I’m thrilled to share one of the many conversations with you here.

The episode is a panel discussion titled Rebuilding a Resilient, Regional Meat Supply Chain, featuring several of the West’s leading voices in sustainable meat production and regenerative agriculture. In order of their appearance in the episode, you’ll hear from Cole Mannix, President of the Old Salt Co-op; Kate Kavanaugh, owner of Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe and host of the Mind, Body, and Soil Podcast; Dan Miller, Founder of Steward; and Wyatt Nelson, President of Wild West Local Foods. As you’ll hear, each panelist is deeply immersed in a different aspect of the meat production supply chain, and each of them brings a unique and wise perspective to the challenges facing producers and small businesses involved in meat production.

Many of you may already know, but the Old Salt Festival is a part of the Old Salt Co-op, a new, purpose-driven company that “provides meat raised with integrity from Montana landscapes its customers know and care about.” The Old Salt Co-op is working to rebuild the meat business in Montana, creating a sustainable business model that is beneficial to local ranchers, local consumers, and local economies– all while responsibly and effectively stewarding the lands that support agriculture. Rebuilding Montana’s meat supply chain is no small feat, but with smart, purpose-driven people like Cole, Kate, Dan, and Wyatt working to find solutions, I think you’ll be both inspired and encouraged.

To learn more about the Old Salt Co-op, you can go back to my first podcast conversion with Cole from February of 2023. And be on the lookout for another live Old Salt Festival episode, which I’ll be releasing on August 8, 2023– that one will feature a conversation with famed western author David James Duncan followed by a reading from his new novel Sun House.  

A huge thanks to Cole and the Old Salt team for inviting me to the Festival, and a huge thanks to the Mannix Family for sharing their stunning ranch with all of us. Thanks to Cole, Kate, Dan, and Wyatt for sharing their wisdom. And last but definitely not least, thanks to the one and only, always hilarious and energetic Bex Frucht for the amazing intro. Hope you enjoy.

Photos by Anthony Pavkovich for the Old Salt Festival

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Topics Discussed:

  • 2:45 – Introductions
  • 6:15 – The challenge and opportunity that Cole saw, leading to the development of Old Salt Co-op
  • 9:00 – What Kate sees as major potential challenges for Old Salt Co-op going forward
  • 12:15 – What attracted Dan to finance regenerative agriculture, especially given that industry’s tight margins
  • 15:00 – Wyatt’s introduction, as well as the roadblocks that Wyatt sees to a more resilient food system from the distribution side of things
  • 17:15 – How the panel members go about getting people’s attention
  • 24:45 – The work Cole’s family and neighbors have done to protect the local landscape, as well as trends in young people getting involved with agriculture
  • 32:15 – What Kate is seeing on the retail side of meat production, and how to address it
  • 38:15 – What Old Salt Co-op is working on right now
  • 41:15 – What we can do that would help build a resilient meat and food system

Information Referenced:

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 Posted on July 6, 2023 by

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Rob Addington – A Deep Dive into Western Wildfires and Forest Health
Rob Addington

Rob Addington is the Director of the Forest and Fire Program with The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. He and his team are focused on increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration in Colorado to reduce hazardous fuels and promote landscape resilience to natural disturbances such as wildfire as well as climate change.

You don’t have to live in the West to know that the region has been battling ongoing drought, historically large and intense wildfires, and various forms of insect-induced forest devastation. Over the past few years here in Colorado, we’ve experienced some of the most destructive wildfires in recorded history, and the pine beetle infestation continues to be a source of serious and increasing concern. And Colorado is obviously not alone– there are similar stories of struggling forests throughout all of the Western states.

While the current conditions may be dire, you’ll be happy to know that Rob and his team at The Nature Conservancy are working extremely hard to find collaborative, creative, and effective solutions to the challenges facing our forests here in the West. By partnering with government agencies, Tribal nations, private landowners, various non-profits, and more, TNC has been leading and implementing some of the most innovative forest health work in the country– work that is creating more resilient, healthy landscapes across hundreds of thousands of acres.

For all the listeners who have been asking for a wildfire and forest health-focused episode, this one is for you. I met up with Rob at the TNC office in Boulder, and he was kind enough to educate me on both the big picture and finer details of all things forest health. You can check out the notes for a full list of everything we discussed, but a few of the topics include: The infamous 2020 wildfire season and the outlook for 2023, the history of land management and how that has affected wildfires, pine beetles, wildfire’s effects on water quality, how beavers can play a role in fire mitigation, some specific success stories, business solutions for forest health, the all-important focus on partnerships, post-fire land management strategies, good books, and much more. Be sure to visit the episode webpage for links to everything, including TNC’s exciting new Western Division Forest and Fire Initiative.

A huge thanks to Rob for taking the time to answer all my questions and another huge thanks to TNC for leading all of this important work. I hope you enjoy!

Headshot courtesy of The Nature Conservancy

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

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EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – Discussing the fire season of 2020
  • 9:45 – The outlook for the fire season of 2023
  • 12:00 – Discussing the variability in Colorado’s recent fire seasons
  • 14:45 – The causes for Colorado’s changing fire seasons
  • 17:30 – Exploring, specifically, the role of historic land management and how it impacts fire behavior
  • 20:30 – Discussing pine beetles
  • 26:00 – How the forest regime progresses in beetle-killed stands without fire, and how changing fire behavior is impacting the forest regime
  • 32:00 – How fires impact water
  • 39:15 – Discussing potential solution strategies for Colorado’s fire situation
  • 42:00 – Discussing the importance of managing partnerships in this work
  • 44:45 – A specific, fire-related project that Rob is happy about
  • 47:15 – Exploring the potential of a for-profit business that is incentivized to thin out fire-prone forests
  • 50:30 – Beavers’ role in wildfire prevention
  • 54:30 – Rob’s favorite period of history to read about
  • 56:30 – Management strategies for an area that has been wiped clean by fire
  • 1:00:30 – Rob’s book recommendations

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on June 27, 2023 by

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David Gessner Returns – “A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World”
David and his furry friend in our podcast “studio”

David Gessner is no stranger to Mountain & Prairie listeners– he’s joined me for many episodes and is the author of many of my favorite books, including All the Wild That Remains, Leave It As It Is, My Green Manifesto, and more. His newest book is A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World: Tales of Fire, Wind, and Water, which once again showcases David’s unique ability to combine humor, travel, and memoir in service of connecting the reader with the natural world.

A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World chronicles David’s journeys around the country, where he finds himself in the middle of an unsettling number of climate disasters– from historic forest fires in the American West to hurricanes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Eschewing the ubiquitous facts, figures, and policy debates that often dominate climate-focused books, David does what he does best: he tells stories. Specifically, he tells impactful, insightful stories from the front lines of the climate crisis– stories that will stick with the reader for years to come.

As has been our tradition for several years now, David and I met up in Boulder, Colorado, where he and his family visit each summer. We obviously talk a lot about the book, but as is the case whenever we get together, the conversation flows into many fun and unexpected topics. You can check out the episode notes for a full list of everything we discussed, but some of the topics include: David’s recent writing workshop at the Zapata Ranch with his friend, author Craig Childs, the importance of momentum and dailiness in writing, how David’s daughter was the influence for the new book, optimism vs pessimism when reporting current events, thoughts on death and loss, David’s good friend, the late Mark Spitzer, the next generation of conservation-minded writers, some book recommendations, the idea of being a “polygamist of place,” and much more.

I’m always happy to have the opportunity to sit down with David for a conversation, so I greatly appreciate his carving out the time. I hope you can check out A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World, and I hope you enjoy this episode.

Photos courtesy of David Gessner

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Topics Discussed:

  • 3:15 – David’s Zapata Ranch retreat
  • 6:45 – Discussing the power of “dailiness”
  • 7:45 – Whether or not teaching helped in David’s practice of writing
  • 9:00 – How many books David has written in the past 18 months
  • 10:30 – How David knows when an idea becomes a book in his mind
  • 16:45 – David’s goal for A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World, including how he balanced stories with statistics and humor with the weight of the subject
  • 20:45 – Evaluating how the news of the West is reported
  • 27:45 – What David means when he identifies as a “polygamist of place”
  • 33:15 – David’s relationship with Mark Spitzer
  • 39:30 – How David feels about entering a stage in life where his friends are beginning to pass away
  • 43:45 – Discussing David’s daughter, climate change, and how they figure into A Traveler’s Guide
  • 50:30 – David discussing the various tools he would like to use to face climate change 
  • 52:45 – Who David thinks will continue the work of the Doug Peacocks of the world
  • 56:45 – Discussing the political alignment affiliated with climate change work
  • 1:01:30 – David’s book recommendations

Information Referenced:

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 Posted on June 20, 2023 by

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Doug Peacock – 50 Years of Fighting for the Grizzlies
Doug Peacock and Ed in Aspen

Doug Peacock is a legendary environmentalist, writer, filmmaker, and grizzly bear advocate. He’s the co-founder of two conversation nonprofits– Round River Conservation Studies and Save the Yellowstone Grizzly. Doug was also the inspiration for the character George Washington Hayduke in his friend Edward Abbey’s classic novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. And to top it all off, he is the author of many classic books, including Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness and his most recent award-winning book Was it Worth It? A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home, published by Patagonia Books.  

Doug was born and raised in Michigan, where he grew up obsessed with nature and the outdoors. As a young man, he was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served as a Green Beret combat medic, an experience that placed him squarely in the middle of devastating violence toward his fellow soldiers, as well as civilian men, women, and children. In 1968, he returned home from Vietnam spiritually broken, mentally unwell, and physically debilitated with malaria. Not knowing where to turn, he headed deep into the wilderness of Yellowstone National Park by himself, where he formed an unlikely bond with the Yellowstone Grizzly Bear. Eventually, he recovered both physically and mentally and, to this day, he credits the grizzly with saving his life. He has spent the last half-century repaying his debt to the grizzly bear, aggressively fighting for their protection and recovery in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and beyond.

I met up with Doug in Aspen, Colorado, where he was in town for a reading of Was it Worth It? at Aspen’s only bookstore, Explore Booksellers. Even though I could’ve talked with Doug for many hours, we managed to jam a lot of stories into this conversation. Some of the topics we discussed include: Why Doug does not carry a gun in grizzly country; why it is important for humans to love and protect a creature as powerful, even dangerous, as a grizzly; his friendships with Edward Abbey, Yvon Chouinard, Jim Harrison, and others, and how each of those high-voltage personalities helped to elevate the others; the death and secret burial of Edward Abbey; why climate changes is such a threat to grizzlies, the challenges and financial realities of a life dedicated to environmental advocacy; his greatest source of pride and greatest disappointment; what is giving him hope now; and Doug reads several passages from Was It Worth It?

Today, at age 81, you can still feel the fire in Doug’s spirit and his passion for grizzlies is palpable. I was honored to have the opportunity to chat with Doug, and I loved his book Was it Worth It? I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Photos courtesy of Doug Peacock and Patagonia Books

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 4:10 – Discussing the picture on the front of Doug’s book
  • 6:25 – When Doug decided it wasn’t fair to be in grizzly country with guns
  • 8:40 – How Yellowstone became a part of Doug’s life 
  • 10:55 – How grizzlies provided a much-needed community for Doug after his time at war
  • 12:40 – How long it took for Doug to find peace in grizzly country after Vietnam
  • 15:10 – Exploring Doug’s balance between telling the good stories and being willing to fight for conservation
  • 18:10 – Why specifically it is so important for humans to learn to love and protect a creature as powerful, even dangerous, as a grizzly
  • 19:40 – How Doug’s friends made him a better conservationist
  • 21:40 – How Doug’s friends balance their very strong personalities
  • 22:40 – The importance of ceremony and how Doug handled the passing of his dear friend, Ed Abbey
  • 28:40 – Whether or not parenthood changed Doug’s outlook on risk and death
  • 30:10 – Who or where Doug drew his motivation from
  • 32:10 – How Doug managed his lifestyle
  • 33:40 – What keeps Doug awake at night, as it pertains to grizzlies
  • 36:40 – How Doug became interested in fighting climate change by way of grizzlies
  • 39:30 – Where Doug would focus his energy if he were starting his career in conservation now
  • 40:25 – Whether or not Doug is an optimist
  • 43:40 – What work Doug is most proud of in his life, and where he thinks he may have fallen short
  • 46:00 – Doug’s friendship with Jim Harrison
  • 47:10 – What gives Doug hope
  • 48:40 – Doug’s mandatory reading

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 Posted on June 8, 2023 by

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Chris Hawkins – Using Nature to Build Healthier & More Equitable Communities
Chris Hawkins

Chris Hawkins is the Colorado Urban Conservation Manager for The Nature Conservancy, where he leads the organization’s efforts in Denver to “solve global challenges like the biodiversity and climate emergencies by supporting and creating more sustainable, efficient ways of living.”

When many people think of The Nature Conservancy, they may envision large-scale conservation efforts across vast grasslands and wild landscapes– but TNC also conducts some of its most innovative conservation work in cities— work that leads to more resilient, healthy, and equitable communities. Chris’s work in Denver is a shining example of how nature-based solutions in densely populated urban areas can have positive ripple effects far beyond the city limits.

Chris was born and raised on the east coast, attended college in Boston, and from the very beginning of his career, he’s been focused on service and causes greater than himself. He’s worked as a Corps Member of AmericaCorps, as Chief of Staff in New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, and for the past nine years, he’s been with the Nature Conservancy. As you’ll hear in this conversation, Chris’s diverse professional experiences have allowed him to bring a unique and effective perspective to the complex world of urban conservation.

Chris was nice enough to join me at my dining room table for an engaging and educational conversation about all things urban conservation. We started out by discussing why TNC has chosen to devote its resources and expertise to conservation in cities, and he explains the unique challenges facing cities in the West. We discuss how public health is directly related to people’s access to nature, and how the simple-but-not-easy strategy of planting trees in neighborhoods can have huge conservation and public health benefits. As is the case with all of my conservation-related conversations, we discuss the critical importance of relationships, and how Chris has managed to build relationships with a diverse group of Denver residents. We also discuss his professional trajectory, the importance of exporting urban conservation ideas to other cities, and the critical roles of mayors and local leadership. And finally, Chris is a serious history buff, so we have a great discussion about books.

There is so much fascinating information packed into this episode, and I greatly appreciate Chris’s taking the time to share his wisdom with the Mountain & Prairie community. Check out the episode notes below for links to everything we discuss. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Photos courtesy of Chris Hawkins and The Nature Conservancy

LISTEN & DOWNLOAD:

Download on Apple Podcasts

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Download on Google Podcasts

…or wherever you get your podcasts!

EPISODE PARTNER:

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Colorado chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Guided by science and grounded by decades of collaborative partnerships, The Nature Conservancy has a long-standing legacy of achieving lasting results to create a world where nature and people thrive.

On the fourth Tuesday of every month throughout 2023, Mountain & Prairie will be delving into conversations with a wide range of The Nature Conservancy’s leaders, partners, collaborators, and stakeholders, highlighting the myriad of conservation challenges, opportunities, and solutions here in the American West. You can access all of the 2023 episodes here.

To learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s impactful work in Colorado and around the world, visit www.nature.org/colorado

RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:45 – Why do Chris and TNC work in cities
  • 7:00 – Thriving cities in the West and the unique challenges they present
  • 9:30 – Whether or not the health benefits of the outdoors have become a larger part of Chris’s work recently
  • 15:30 – Discussing trees
  • 27:45 – How Chris builds relationships in his work in cities
  • 33:45 – Specific strategies Chris uses to build trust
  • 38:30 – Where Chris grew up and why he became involved in this work
  • 43:30 – Discussing the work of city mayors
  • 53:00- How ideas that are exported or imported between cities show up in Chris’s work in Denver
  • 1:00:15 – Chris’s book recommendations

Information Referenced:

Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:

Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.

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 Posted on May 23, 2023 by

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Live from the Strenuous Life Retreat: In Conversation with Nancy Fishbein
Nancy Fishbein

Back in September of 2022, I held the first annual Strenuous Life Retreat at the renowned Zapata Ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The retreat consisted of five days of adventure and education inspired by Theodore Roosevelt’s well-known commitment to living “the Strenuous Life.” We hiked high into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, rode horses in Great Sand Dunes National Park, and enjoyed world-class meals. And each afternoon, we enjoyed facilitated conversations about land stewardship, conservation, and regenerative agriculture. This episode is a recording of one of those conversations.

I was honored to be joined by conservation veteran Nancy Fishbein, who serves as Director of Resilient Lands for the Colorado Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Nancy has been a long-standing leader in the Western conservation community, so we were all honored that she took time out of her full schedule to join us and share some stories and hard-earned wisdom. The Zapata Ranch is owned by the Nature Conservancy and managed by Ranchlands, so Nancy has a unique insight into the history of the ranch, as well as the importance of conservation in the San Luis Valley. 

We recorded this conversation at the ranch’s education center, one afternoon after a morning of horseback riding. The first half consists of me asking the questions, and the second half consists of questions from the retreat participants. We cover everything from the history of the Zapata Ranch to the establishment of Great Sand Dunes National Park, which adjoins the ranch to the north. We talk about the conservation bison herd that calls the ranch home, and some of the ongoing challenges in the San Luis Valley created by water speculation and development. We discuss how mineral rights development can coexist with conservation, the protection of biodiversity on ranches, how TNC and the National Park Service work together, and much more. As you’ll hear, everyone in attendance was super engaged and curious about Nancy’s work, and it showed in the range of interesting and thoughtful questions. 

I hope this episode will give you a bit of insight into the types of conversations we had at the 2022 Retreat and the kind of conversations you can expect in 2023 and beyond. Colorado is blessed to have so many committed conservationists like Nancy who devote their time and energy to protecting and stewarding these spectacular landscapes, and I can’t thank Nancy enough for taking the time to join us.

If you’re interested in joining me for the 2023 Retreat, as of this recording there are still a few spots left. Follow this link to learn more and reserve your spot. Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy!

Header photo by Ranchlands, Nancy’s headshot by The Nature Conservancy.

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RESOURCES:

Topics Discussed:

  • 3:30 – A quick intro to Nancy
  • 5:30 – The story of the Education Center on Zapata Ranch
  • 7:00 – How Zapata Ranch first got onto TNC’s radar
  • 10:00 – How TNC goes about acquiring properties like Zapata Ranch
  • 12:15 – Why the previous owner of Zapata Ranch did not charge TNC full fair market value for the property
  • 13:30 – The importance of relationships in TNC’s work
  • 15:30 – What happened after TNC acquired Zapata Ranch
  • 18:15 – Explaining a conservation easement
  • 20:00 – Why the bison herd on Zapata Ranch were such a focal point of TNC’s conservation work there
  • 22:15 – Why TNC has chosen to hold onto Zapata Ranch as an owner for so long
  • 25:45 – How TNC works with various levels of government agencies
  • 27:30 – Nancy’s biggest concern for the San Luis Valley
  • 29:00 – The most recent scheme to remove water from the San Luis Valley
  • 31:45 – Audience questions begin
  • 32:00 – Whether or not Nancy wished that TNC had done something different in their acquisition of Zapata Ranch
  • 32:45 – Nancy’s surprises and lessons learned about Zapata
  • 34:30 – Why an easement cannot be put on San Luis Valley’s aquifer
  • 36:15 – TNC’s role in the establishment of Baca Wildlife Refuge and the Great Sand Dunes National Park
  • 40:45 – The distinction between a national park and national monument
  • 41:30 – How the TNC navigated purchasing land that was managed by a private company (Rocky Mountain Bison) but on leased state land
  • 42:30 – Exploring the potential causality between water export schemes in the San Luis Valley and the establishment of the Great Sand Dunes National Park
  • 44:00 – Whether or not there remains the appetite for bipartisan action, such as the kind that led to the creation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, in our current political climate
  • 45:00 – Exploring TNC’s support of agriculture as a conservation service
  • 43:30 – Whether or not TNC deals with agricultural leases
  • 51:30 – How easements impact mineral and mining rights on a property
  • 53:30 – How fracking might complicate conservation easements, and whether or not easements are a successful tool for reducing oil and gas development 
  • 55:45 – How TNC measures success in its conservation work and the preservation of biodiversity on a property, and  ow they respond to and act on those measurements
  • 1:00:55 – What TNC is working on right now in Colorado

Information Referenced:

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 Posted on May 18, 2023 by

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