Rock weirs are structures that act to slow water down in streams or ditches, decreasing erosion and creating habitat. Weirs offer low-tech solutions to issues that can plague landowners as they manage water crossing their land, and can be a powerful management tool. The strategic addition of rocks to streambeds creates turbulence and drag, which slows water down, reducing its capacity to carry sediment and erode the land. Weirs have been used as a water management tool for thousands of years, but the early 1900s saw a rise in their use for habitat and stream restoration.

Aspen trees and forests are especially important in the Rocky Mountains. Aspens add beauty to landscapes, foster high diversity and productivity of understory plants, provide for the habitat needs of many species of animals, and moderate fire behavior. There is a perception that aspen trees and stands are not regenerating well in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico; cohorts of trees younger than a few decades are scarce, at least in some areas. The next generation of aspen in the southern Rockies will be influenced by land use decisions, including harvesting, fire policy and management, and browsing by livestock and wildlife.

Landowners speak from experience on forestry The American West is home to some of our nation’s most iconic forests. WLA staff interviewed landowners throughout the West to gain their perspective…

By Rick Danvir, Gregg Simonds, Eric Sant, Eric Thacker, Randy Larsen, Tony Svejcar, Douglas Ramsey, Fred Provenza, and Chad Boyd Journal article published in February 2018 issue of Rangelands, the…

In Summer 2016, WLA co-hosted the Beyond Boundaries Landowner Symposium in Cody, Wyoming, which included discussions on emerging science and new policies related to working lands and private ownership in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and beyond. This is the report of that gathering.

Highlighting strategies to restore this beautiful species The decline of aspen in western forests over the past several decades has been a significant concern to scientists, foresters and land managers,…