The old ways aren't working in some parts of cow country. And the malls are on the march.

American Cowboy - November/December 1999
Written by John Brown

Excerpt:
"SANTA FE, N.M. - The Quivira Coalition is an unlikely Grange Hall full of New Mexico ranchers, environmentalists, and public land managers who believe that they might have something of benefit to share with each other, something that might actually enhance the economic and philosophical wellbeing of people who will not ever, in a thousand elections, vote the-same straight-party ticket. Headquartered in Santa Fe, The Quivira Coalition believes that healthy public rangeland and economically robust ranches might share the same grass.

"The Quivira Coalition works toward construction of 'The New Ranch,' a place where cooperation has replaced confrontation, where common interests and common sense prevail, where environmentalists might come for supper. The New Ranch represents a third-party position, an extension of the points of view of knowledgeable, well-intentioned environmentalists and ranch families who have found their livelihoods and a way of life on land they have worked for generations.

"The founders of The Quivira Coalition - rancher Jim Winder, former Sierra Club staffer Barbara Johnson, and conservationist Courtney White - think they have discovered 'a reasonable solution to the increasingly angry debate that surrounds grazing in the American West.' In an early statement of purpose the three founders wrote that they were 'entering the grazing battlefield not to referee the contest of wills between ranchers and environmentalists, or to mediate a truce, or even to find common ground among combatants. Instead, we propose to lead people to another playing field altogether. We believe that an alternative exists which allows the land to heal, and perhaps thrive, while enabling ranchers to make a living. We call it 'The New Ranch.'" And it looks exactly like Winder's Heritage Ranch near Nutt, N.M...."

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