In 2007, the Board of the Quivira Coalition added the words “build resilience” to our mission statement. Resilience means “to bounce back” or “recover quickly” from a shock or surprise. In ecology, it refers to the capacity of plant and animal populations to handle disruption caused by fire, flood, drought, or insect infestation. In ranching, it means enduring droughts, low cattle prices, and other stresses over the years. Today, while building resilience is more important than ever, it may not be enough. That’s because the definition of “normal” is changing. In this issue of our journal, we tackle the idea of going beyond resilience for ranchers, landowners, wildlife and young people.
Quivira’s annual publication started out as a printed newsletter and has served as a source for on-the-ground rangeland science, a place for stories and reflections from our community, and a resource on implementation of regenerative agriculture on working lands since the start of the organization. It has since morphed into a high-quality, professionally-designed and printed literary magazine that showcases poetry, written reflections, photography, artwork, and science writing that comes from those who are working or stewarding the land; very few of the contributors are professional writers, highlighting the lived experiences that they bring. If you’re interested in contributing to a future issue, please email communications@quiviracoalition.org.
