Saving the Gunnison Sage Grouse: Community Conservation in Action
In Gunnison, Colorado, there is an innovative collaboration led by the National Resources Conservation Service and involving local conservation groups and state offices to conserve the Gunnison Sage Grouse on private and public land. The story of protecting the threatened, but not endangered, sage grouse is one of widespread community involvement to restore health to a 2.5-million-acre watershed. Using the techniques of land restoration pioneer Bill Zeedyk, they have been able to build up habitat for the sage grouse, and at the same time provide increased forage for cattle.
We talk to Nathan Seward Terrestrial Biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Brett Redden of Redden Ranches in Gunnison, Colorado.
More Episodes
Episode 183 – Landscape Restoration: Letting Nature Do the Work
Landscape Restoration: Letting Nature Do the Work Bill Zeedyk restores landscapes — streams, wetlands, even rural roads — by using simple, low-tech tools and letting nature do most of the work. The result is healthy, lush desert ecosystems. He's the subject of a new...
Episode 182 – Ducks, Cows, and Resilience: Benefitting Farmlands by Protecting Waterfowl Habitat
Ducks, Cows, and Resilience: Benefitting Farmlands by Protecting Waterfowl Habitat Since the 1930's, Ducks Unlimited has been protecting habitat for ducks and other migrating waterfowl, and has conserved over 18 million acres of wetlands and bird habitat in North...
Episode 181 – Animal Welfare is Good for Everyone — Including Farmers
Animal Welfare is Good for Everyone — Including Farmers Adam Mason is senior manager of Farm Animal Welfare and Environmental Policy at the ASPCA, the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In our conversation, he talks about their multi-pronged...
Episode 180 – 1000 Farms Initiative: A New Paradigm of Science in Service of Farmers
1000 Farms Initiative: A New Paradigm of Science in Service of Farmers Entomologist, agroecologist, farmer, rancher, and beekeeper, Dr. Jonathan Lundgren, was a scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service for 11 years. He left to undertake regenerative...
Episode 179 – Virtual Fencing: New Technology that Benefits Ranching and Land Conservation
Virtual Fencing: New Technology that Benefits Ranching and Land Conservation The Nature Conservancy partners with ranchers on virtual fencing, a new technology that keeps animals in delimited areas through GPS collars — resulting in labor saving, wildlife...
Episode 178 – Regenerating a Desert Wetland Oasis
Regenerating a Desert Wetland Oasis Don Boyd spent a year on the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, photographing, living, and finding a deep connection to land, water, and animals — including the many migrating birds that live part-time...
Episode 177 – The Awe-inspiring Beauty Hidden in our Food
The Awe-inspiring Beauty Hidden in our Food Robert Dash‘s new book, "Food Planet Future: The Art of Turning Food and Climate Perils into Possibilities," features photo collages of foods from all over the planet. Combining images from a scanning electron microscope...
Episode 176 – Painterland Sisters Yogurt: Regeneration at Every Step from Farmer to Consumer
Painterland Sisters Yogurt: Regeneration at Every Step from Farmer to Consumer Hayley and Stephanie Painter saved their farm by creating a national yogurt brand — and they’re committed to fostering not only nutrient dense, regenerative food, but also health at every...
Episode 175 – Agave, Mesquite, and a Carbon Drawdown Game-Changer
Agave, Mesquite, and a Carbon Drawdown Game-Changer André Leu knows what it takes to take massive amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and put it into the soil permanently. We talk about his new book, The Regenerative Agriculture Solution. André Leu is co-founder...
Episode 174 – Commerce, the Destruction of Nature, and the Uphill Path to Sustainability
Commerce, the Destruction of Nature, and the Uphill Path to Sustainability Sara Dant‘s book, "Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West," covers the long history of human habitation on the North American continent — from the time that megafauna like...