Crossing Borders
Wolf management in the Alps requires attention to science and people
By Francesco Bisi
The first wolves to enter the Alps in nearly a hundred years found themselves in southeast France’s Mercantour National Park in 1992.
Barriers to Survival
Could a centuries-old pastoralist tool help conserve a rare antelope?
By Annabella Helman
In Kenya’s Rift Valley, a pride of lions begins to stir as the sun descends to the horizon and the air grows still.
Game on the Range
Small tweaks in USDA programs support working lands and migrations in Wyoming
By Shaleas Harrison
It’s 8 am as the sunlight moves across the foothills of Carter Mountain, the longest mountain in the Absaroka range and east from Yellowstone National Park.
Home Grown Hirolas
Local communities lead the protection of an endangered antelope
By Tesia Lin
In the 1990s, Kenya’s hirola antelope population “plummeted from 15,000 to an estimated 300-500 animals,” says retired professor Dr. Richard Kock.
High but Not Dry
In the right places, flood irrigation might be doing more good than harm
By Emily Downing
Every spring, Chris Williams looks forward to seeing the terns alight on the meadows of the southern Wyoming ranch that he manages.
So Much More than Habitat
How the intersection of wildlife ecology and social science can improve human-wildlife conflict management
By Ezra Stepanek
Bruna Ferreira tried to go into her conversations with the people living around Atlantic Forest State Park without expectations.
Horses, Hats, and Heritage
Dude ranching offers a compelling model for sustainable tourism in the West
By Graham Marema
Just before sunrise, Nine Quarter Circle Ranch wakes up. The valley is still blue with fog, and wranglers don cowboy hats and vests, shimmying their feet into worn boots.
Leave it to Beaver
Returning to past practices for future water management
By Tesia Lin
In 2014, John Coffman arrived in Wyoming as The Nature Conservancy’s new steward for the Red Canyon Ranch and quickly encountered an unforgettable lesson.
Not Fade Away
Communities in rural Montana reach beyond agriculture
By Samuel Western
I’m in upper eastern Montana, a land of undulating drainages, heading north on Highway 87.
Free-Range Carbon
Not a silver bullet, but maybe a gold standard, a new market tool benefits climate, ecosystems, and people
By Birch Malotky
When I get Dallas May on the phone for the first time and ask how he’s doing, he immediately tells me, “We were getting ready to start selling cattle and a week later the rains started.
Early Detection and Rapid Response
Can a highly coordinated team of experts and weed managers stop a new invasive species?
For many westerners, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is the exemplar invasive weed, well known for thriving in sagebrush landscapes where it crowds out native plants, fuels a devastating fire regime, and threatens wildlife and livestock grazing.
Unsung Pollinators
Native bees are forgotten in the clamor to save exotic pollinators
Christy Bell rifled through a series of shallow drawers lining the walls of a dark, windowless lab.
Time to Revisit our Invasive Species Strategy
Perspective from Governor Mark Gordon
Invasive species are not a new phenomenon, but over the past few decades the West has seen an explosion of all types in all ecosystems.
Where Domestic Sheep Still Roam
A court case challenges domestic sheep grazing on national forests
In any court case, there are two sides. But in a wood-paneled courtroom at the Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Butte, Montana, differences between the two sides headed to court were not immediately apparent.
A Win-Win Situation
What’s good for sage grouse is good for landowners
I met Peter John Camino in the lobby of the Johnson County Public Library in Buffalo, Wyoming.
Small-Scale Hydropower
Wyoming’s streams and irrigation ditches are an untapped clean energy source
“If we disconnected that 14-inch pipe and pointed it upward, the water would blast nearly 600 feet into the air,” says Les Hook
Conservation Easements in Wyoming
Each land trust, landowner, and conservation easement is one-of-a-kind
From verdant, low-elevation spreads in Wyoming’s northeast corner to high, dry western basins, private lands across the state are diverse.
Conservation Easements
An open spaces protection tool worth reforming
In 2002, when Robert Hicks, owner of the Buffalo Bulletin newspaper in Buffalo, Wyoming, learned that the Johnson County commissioners canceled a conservation easement
After the Burn
Fontenelle fire sparks collaboration to protect local ecosystems and economies
In late June of 2012, the Fontenelle fire ripped across the Wyoming Range, torching forests and shrublands.
Carnivores, Not Condos
Ranches provide key wildlife passages between two protected ecosystems
On his ranch in Montana’s Ruby Valley, Rick Sandru can load hay and enjoy views of the snowcapped Tobacco Root Mountains as geese honk overhead.