Podcast Archives • Page 3 of 9 • Mountain & Prairie

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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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

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Posted on May 18, 2023 by ELR

Blog, Podcast, The Latest

Agriculture, Conservation, Conservationists, History, Ranchers, The Nature Conservancy

Jesse Griffiths is an Austin-based chef, author, hunter, and fisherman, and he’s also the co-owner of Dai Due Butcher Shop & Supper Club and the New School of Traditional Cookery. Jesse’s work has been featured everywhere from The New York Times to the Joe Rogan Experience, and he’s a regular contributor to Steven Rinella’s MeatEater. As an author, Jesse has received great praise for his two books, the James Beard Award-finalist cookbook, Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish, as well as his most recent title, The Hog Book: A Chef’s Guide to Hunting, Preparing, and Cooking Wild Pigs.

Born and raised in Denton, Texas, Jesse grew up obsessed with fishing– he loved catching the fish, but he also loved cooking and eating them. As a teenager, he started working in restaurants and became more and more interested in cooking– an interest that he pursued full-time after graduating from high school. Propelled by a deep curiosity and a desire to broaden his perspective, he would save up his money and then travel, studying food and cooking in a wide variety of cultures around the world. Eventually, Jesse combined all of his unique personal and professional experiences and opened his own restaurant, Dia Due, which features food that is “produced in a fair and equitable way, represent(s) local culinary traditions, and support(s) farmers and ranchers who are striving to improve the quality of our food.”

I’ve been a fan of Jesse’s work for many years, so I was thrilled when we were introduced by a mutual friend. Over the course of our hour together, we covered a lot, include: Jesse’s upbringing in Texas and his early days in cooking, the importance of international travel, the challenges of getting Dai Due off the ground, the importance of humility and curiosity, a deep dive into wild hogs in Texas, his approach to writing, Jesse’s recent obsession with wild turkeys, and, of course, Jesse offers a ton of great book recommendations.

I loved this conversation and was blown away by Jesse’s kindness and humility. I really appreciate his taking the time to chat with me, and I know you’ll learn a lot from Jesse’s fascinating life story. Enjoy!

Photos by Jody Horton for The Hog Book