Neighbors helping neighbors: ranchers band together to fight wildfires in eastern Oregon
“I’ve got 5 volunteers moving my cows this morning - only 2 of them are related,” texted rancher and WLA contractor Kim Kerns, who runs cattle and sheep in Baker
Working outdoors in extreme heat: what you need to know
Extreme heat warnings are in effect for much of the United States this weekend, and record-breaking heatwaves have become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Especially in the West, where outdoor
House committee on natural resources to review key conservation bill next week
North America’s largest carnivores are in the midst of dramatic comebacks in the lower 48. Reintroduction and natural dispersal have returned gray wolves to parts of the West that they
Ditch “inefficiencies” give us wetlands
Imagine Westerners waking up one morning only to discover that many of their most cherished wetlands have dried up, gone. This is not fiction during these times of determining the
New rules for the river
State and Tribal negotiators are hashing out proposals for management of the Colorado River that will Kick in in 2026. Why should Western landowners care, and how can they participate? As
Media Luna
A few weeks ago, I visited several ranches west of Tucson, with a group of conservationists on a conference field trip. In the dry desert air of the Altar Valley,
Are drones an answer to wolf attacks on livestock?
Over just 20 days in the summer of 2022, there were 11 confirmed depredations by the resident Rogue Pack wolves in Southern Oregon’s Klamath Basin. But gray wolves are listed
Restoring Soil and Saving Water with Wool
In the sprawling landscape of arid western Wyoming, Alicia and Ben Rux, owners of Cottonwood Creek Ranch, faced a common dilemma among Western sheep ranchers: what to do with the
Can flood irrigating do what spring floods used to out West?
Each spring, Adrian Hunolt draws water from the Bear River to flood irrigate the fields on his family’s ranch in Evanston, Wyoming. Like many other flood irrigators, Hunolt’s ranch lies
Keeping Cold Water Cold
Tips for ranch water projects that sustain blue-ribbon trout fisheries The drive south from the small town of Twin Bridges, Montana, leads through a broad valley to the agricultural hub of
Landowner. Rainmaker.
You cangrow water Landowners are in the business, whether formally or not, of growing things—food, trees, grass, animals, biodiversity. To that list you can also add water, especially in the West.
Water your livestock, legally
For many Western landowners, stockwatering and irrigation go hand in hand. Without a stockwater-specific water right, however, users could be operating outside of their established decree. Understanding your water right,