In Photos: Western Landowners in Action

Every year, WLA convenes landowners and managers on the land to network, learn from one another and compare notes on the challenges and rewards of caring for and making a living off the land. To date in 2018, we’ve convened ranch tours and working lands forums in New Mexico, Colorado and Montana; hosted special events like our succession planning forum and a film festival on the future of working lands and conservation; represented landowners on two Western Governors’ Association working lands forum panels; and convened small groups of landowners in the northern Rockies to identify top landowners interests and concerns. We hope you enjoy this selection of photos from just a few of these events, below.

Women in Ranching – Montana Circle

Clockwise from the top:  Kim Colvin, Tammy Pate and Beth Godbey; Eva Reil and Heather Nenninger; WIR co-founders Wendy Millet and Elaine Patarini (top right and bottom right); Tammy Pate with horse, Smoke — and Erin Kiley (WLA WIR program co-coordinator), Sadie Bolze and Liz Barbour in the background; Eva Reil with WLA WIR program co-coordinator Amber Smith. Photos: Elaine Patarini.

Elk Glade Ranch – CO

WLA Stewardship in Action Tour: June 2018. Owners Jim Johnson, Mark Johnson and Jim Hammond inherited the ranch, which originated as a homestead back in 1929. Fellow landowners and practitioners spent the day discussing a diversity of land management and ownership topics ranging from conservation easements to forest management, and cross-boundary issues with public neighbors to cattle drives, hunting and guest services. Photos: John Allison.

Working to Reduce Conflicts with Wildlife

Landowner Convenings, 2016-present

Clockwise from top: Hilary Anderson is challenging traditional paradigms and pioneering range riding techniques in the Tom Miner Basin; Wyatt Donald of the Cayuse Livestock Company describes herd management strategies he is using to avoid conflicts with wolves; ranchers observe grizzlies foraging for caraway root on a ranch in the Tom Miner Basin. Photos: Lesli Allison.

Flying Diamond Ranch – CO

WLA Stewardship in Action Tour: May 2018. This fifth-generation, family owned commercial cattle ranch has been in operation since 1907. Fellow landowners and practitioners gathered on the land to explore the economic and ecological benefits of adaptive management, rotational grazing and rest, water and fence infrastructure, and how healthy cattle and healthy rangelands go hand-in-hand. Photos: Hallie Mahowald (left side) and Flying Diamond Ranch (right side). Read a recent case study showcasing the Flying Diamond Ranch.

Stewardship with Vision Film Series: Episodes 7 & 8

We completed two additional episodes in our Stewardship with Vision film series this year. Episode 7 (left) featured George Whitten and Julie Sullivan on the San Juan Ranch, in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, while Episode 8 (right) featured Jim Berlier, on the Berlier Ranch in southern New Mexico. Stewardship with Vision films are produced in partnership with Montana State University’s graduate program in Science & Natural History Filmmaking. Student film-makers in this program are required to have an undergraduate degree in the sciences. They are selected through an application process each semester, and promptly sent out on a ranch filming adventure unlike anything they’re ever experienced. You can view these and other episodes on our website.

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The Western Landowners Alliance advances policies and practices that sustain working lands, connected landscapes and native species.
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