Small-scale processing is on the rise, but ranchers still need buyers’ buy-in.
Ranching
Posted inArticles
Outrage, disinformation and threats rise up in Wyoming around a BLM land plan
Is there a new Sagebrush Rebellion flaring in the Cowboy State?
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
Los peligros del pastoreo
Trabajadores con visas H-2A sufren en su mayoría precariedad laboral mientras sostienen a la industria ovina del Oeste de EE.UU.
Posted inOctober 2, 2023: The Dark Side of the Sheepherding Industry
The dark side of America’s sheep industry
Sheepherders face wage theft, isolation, hunger and alleged abuse.
Posted inArticles
The state of tribal co-management of public lands
As National Public Lands Day approaches, Indigenous leaders discuss working with agencies to manage dispossessed lands.
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Conservation groups sue BLM for rangeland degradation
The lawsuit alleges the agency isn’t conducting environmental assessments before renewing grazing permits.
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Public lands had a roller coaster month
Rounding up the Biden administration’s ups and downs on land policy.
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Why has Alaska given an uninhabited, remote island to feral cattle?
Chirikof Island belongs to cows despite habitat loss being one of the biggest issues facing wild animals.
Posted inArticles
Why you should care about the farm bill
The legislation affects hunger, food security and climate — and it begins expiring next month.
Posted inAugust 1, 2023: In the Line of Fire
Mexican wolf recovery hinges on maternal instincts
Fifty years after the passage of the Endangered Species Act, the Mexican wolf recovery plan walks a fine line between human meddling and trusting mother nature.
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In the Northern Rockies, grizzly bears are on the move
As grizzlies recover, they’re no longer content to roam within the boundaries contrived for them.
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Hay – yes, hay – is sucking the Colorado River dry
Desert farming, wasteful irrigation and the profoundly thirsty crop is bringing the critical river to the brink.
Posted inJune 1, 2023: Seen and Unseen
The many legacies of Letitia Carson
An effort to memorialize the homestead of one of Oregon’s first Black farmers illuminates the land’s complicated history.
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A ‘seismic shift’ for public lands?
The new Public Lands Rule would put conservation on par with other uses.
Posted inNovember 1, 2022: The Futures of Conservation
Post-Trump, wildlife passages along the border wall keep narrowing
As construction continues, U.S. and Mexican conservationists work together to preserve remaining corridors.
Posted inArticles
A new mental health hotline for farmers and ranchers
Wyoming is one of five states piloting a resource for agricultural producers.
Posted inJuly 1, 2022: Living with Rivers
Your ears will perk up at these new Western podcasts
Four new podcasts envision change in juvenile justice, energy and ranching.
Posted inArticles
Wyoming jury finds corner crossers not guilty
The hunters escaped criminal trespass charges, but still face a civil suit.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
Cows, coal and climate change: A Q&A with the new BLM director
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses how the federal agency sees conservation, the climate crisis and the Indigenous history of public lands.
Posted inMay 1, 2022: New Ways of Seeing the West
There are millions of acres of ‘failing’ rangelands, data shows
54 million acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management aren’t meeting the agency’s own land-health standards.