From the Editor's Desk:

The theme of this issue of our Journal - and the next one as well - is based on our successful Seventh Annual Conference, titled "Building Resilience: Creating Hope in an Age of Consequences."

Building resilience - which the dictionary defines as "the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change" - is now the main focus of The Quivira Coalition. We've even adjusted our mission statement to reflect its increased emphasis in our work. It now reads: The mission of The Quivira Coalition is to build resilience by fostering ecological, economic and social health on western landscapes through education, innovation, collaboration, and progressive public and private land stewardship.

Of course, we've always had resilience in mind - which is why we consider ourselves to be a "land health" organization. Healthy land is the foundation of a healthy economy.

But as events pick up speed nationally, and even globally, the need to build resilience is becoming increasingly urgent. So, we're jumping in with both feet. In this issue, we study resilience from an on-the-ground perspective, including stories from the Navajo reservation, the French Alps, Mongolia, and Santa Fe, before concluding with an original poem by Art Goodtimes inspired by the Conference.

We hope you enjoy the adventure. Let us know what you think.

Happy reading! -Courtney White

Contents:

• Preserving Lifeway Traditions and Heritage Breeds for a Resilient Future -Gay Chanler
• Shepherds' Know-How Faced with Globalization and Nature Cosnervation: a French Experience -Michel Meuret and Mick Gascoin
• Resilience and Reciprocity -Rebecca Watters
• $7 Gas and the New West -Courtney White
• Local Beef: An Opportunity to Seize, Part 1 -Sarah Laeng-Gilliat, with contributions by Ken Meter