Caring for the Little Dolores, headwaters to confluence
The Mountain Island Ranch straddles the Colorado-Utah border, from high country to canyon bottoms, riparian wetlands and desert, and public and private lands due to classic Western checkerboarding. The ranch
New VPA-HIP Funding is a Win for Access — and for the Working Lands Behind It
For hunters, anglers, and landowners, USDA-NRCS’s recent announcement of $52 million for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program is welcome news. Known as VPA-HIP, the program helps states and
Re-restoring the Animas after a post-fire flood
When erosion-control solutions designed and funded by the NRCS washed away in a flood, Dave Koeberle stepped in with $60,000 of his own money to rebuild and improve the structure. In
“Making The Most Of Every Drop.” Ranchers Talk Water, Drought Resilience
LA GRANDE, OR — The Northeast Oregon Rangeland Summit was a great opportunity for landowners, government officials, and working lands professionals to come together and learn about the issues facing
Long-running Colorado lab says 2026 is the worst snow year in Gunnison Basin recorded history
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) reports that, as of late March, spring 2026 snowpack surrounding its Gothic, Colorado, campus was at its lowest level recorded in more than 50
A Bar of Soap, an Onion Bag, and One Smart Beaver Deterrent
During a recent “Bringing Water Back to the Land” webinar, panelist Chris King dropped one of the more unusual steward tips we have heard of into the conversation in regard
Cade Rensink: Fire is an investment in healthy prairie
Marty Robbins’s “Prairie Fire,” a rollicking, anxious country ballad, describes the fear these huge blazes struck into the hearts of cowboys: fires so big they went from horizon to horizon.
New Study Shows Rain and Ag Have Closer Relationship Than Previously Assumed
A recent paper published by Yan Jiang, a hydroclimatologist completing a postdoc at the University of California, San Diego and Jennifer Burney, a professor of Global Environmental Policy and Earth
Farm Bill 2.0 Supports Wildlife Connectivity, But the Work Continues
Working lands, and the farmers and ranchers who steward them, are central to the conservation of wildlife habitat in the West. When managed thoughtfully, these lands provide essential habitat, enable
In drying West, hope for wetlands found on working lands, says new study
The warming climate in the American West is drying out wetlands at a greater scale than previously known. But where wetlands remain, and why, may surprise you. A 2025 paper, “Going,
Warming winters are disrupting the hidden world of fungi – the result can shift mountain grasslands to scrub
Stephanie Kivlin, University of Tennessee; Aimee Classen, University of Michigan, and Lara A. Souza, University of Oklahoma When you look out across a snowy winter landscape,
Flood Irrigation Can Lead to Better Streamflow, Study Says
The conversion of flood irrigation to sprinklers has been a boon to producers. Sprinklers are more efficient, which means better yields, and better yields mean more to sell on the