On Land

For nearly five decades, Bob Budd has worked at the intersection of ranching and conservation in the American West. Recently inducted into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame, Bob is the executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust and author of Otter's Dance. He's spent his career finding common ground between people who don't always see eye to eye. In this episode, Bob joins Western Landowners Alliance chief executive Lesli Allison to discuss the economics of stewardship, the importance of keeping working lands intact, and why locally led conservation often produces the most lasting results. From habitat leasing and public lands grazing to the growing pressures on Western ranches, they explore what it will take to build an economy that supports healthy landscapes and the people who care for them. -- This conversation is part of the latest issue of On Land magazine, which explores the changing economics of land stewardship in the American West. Show Notes Your support helps keep this work moving forward. Please consider making a year-end gift to Western Landowners Alliance today!

If you aren't a fly fishing sicko, you might not be familiar with the Henry's Fork in eastern Idaho. This place is a trout's dream, with an incredible amount of insect and aquatic life that gets these fish to grow big, and get very, very picky. The Henry's Fork sits in some of the most productive irrigated agricultural land in the American West (Idaho potatoes are famous for a reason!) And there is certainly tension between these two main economic drivers of the American West: recreation and agriculture. That's where the Henry's Fork Foundation comes into play. In today's episode, we talked with three HFF science team members about how science, landowners, and conservation can work together. Thanks to Rob Van Kirk, HFF's science and technology program director, Jack McLaren, aquatic ecology program manager, and Christina Morrissett, climate adaptation program manager, for joining us!

In today's episode, WLA Communications Director Louis Wertz sits down with Aireona Raschke, who leads collaborative efforts across the West through her work with the Center for Collaborative Conservation and the Western Collaborative Conservation Network at Colorado State University. Aireona gives us a preview of this year's Confluence –a conference designed to support and connect people across the West doing the important, and often challenging, work of collaborative conservation. Whether you plan to attend or not, this is a great conversation about what it takes to bring people together and build solutions that last. More information about Confluence 2026 can be found here.

We talk a lot about the importance of knowing the land at Western Landowners Alliance. Walking it, talking it, being in sync with it. Perry Cabot is one of the people Colorado producers can partner with to help them know more exactly what is happening in their fields, because Perry is using cutting-edge science to understand evapotranspiration rates and how farmers and ranchers can adapt to drought in a drier West. Perry is a research professor at Colorado State University Extension, and has spent years learning about the complex interplay between precipitation, irrigation, evapotranspiration, and more. Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2026/podcast/whats-going-on-down-there-satellites-irrigation-and-science-with-perry-cabot/

Join the Ranch Managers Guild: https://wla.social/guild Today we're sharing an episode from our friends at the Land Investor Podcast featuring Justin Howe—President of Gates Family Ranches, which is a family-owned cattle, hospitality, and conservation operation spanning the Colorado–Wyoming border. Alongside his wife, Lissa, Justin has co-managed the A Bar A Guest Ranch since 2008. Justin is also a Western Landowners Alliance board member and advisor to our Ranch Managers Guild—a network built to support the people stewarding working lands every day. The Guild offers connection, practical tools, and professional development for managers of family ranches, cattle operations, and conservation properties alike.  In this episode, hosts Matt and Ryan sit down with Justin for an in-depth conversation about modern ranch management in the American West. Drawing on decades of hands-on experience, Justin shares how today's ranch leaders balance cattle operations, guest services, conservation goals, technology, and landowner priorities—all while keeping large, complex landscapes healthy and productive for the long haul.  Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2026/podcast/modern-ranch-management-at-scale-with-justin-howe/  

In a drying West, more producers are looking for options to remain viable, which is why today we're taking a look at dryland farming.   Relying on water from the sky in the Colorado River Basin, where it feels like irrigation is the norm, is not an easy task. That's why we're chatting with Gus Westerman, director at Colorado State University Extension and drought advisor, to learn how to make farming economically and ecologically viable in a part of Colorado that puts the "dry" in dryland.  Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2026/podcast/dryland-farming-in-the-colorado-basin-with-gus-westerman/  

A new report reveals that Western landowners invested at least $407.5 million of their own money in conservation in 2024, outpacing many of the most well-known public funding programs. This new data fills a major gap in how we understand conservation economics.  Today, WLA CEO Lesli Allison and WLA's communications director Louis Wertz walk through what the data shows, why these investments have gone largely unrecognized, and what it means for the future of conservation in the West.   Full report here: https://westernlandowners.org/landowner-investment/ 

Today we're sharing an episode from our friends at Reframing Rural, an award-winning documentary podcast telling honest, place-rooted stories of rural people and communities. Their new season, "Succession Stories," offers an intimate look at the family farm and ranch succession process - something rarely talked about openly, yet central to the future of working lands.  Before we roll the episode, we sit down for a short conversation with the show's creator, Megan Torgerson, to hear what she's learning from families across Montana.  Show Notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2025/podcast/listen-new-podcast-season-provides-an-intimate-look-into-the-family-farm-and-ranch-succession-process/   Photo credit: Morgan Ellis   

Today, we're looking at the future of the Bureau of Land Management — a federal agency that oversees nearly 250 million acres of land in the West.    We're in the middle of a critical moment for public lands, especially the BLM. Staffing and budget cuts are hitting an agency that's already stretched thin, there's still no confirmed director, and a recent ProPublica investigation is once again raising questions about oversight of the grazing program.   To help put all these headlines in context, and consider what reforms might even be possible, WLA's CEO Lesli Allison sat down with Jesse Juen, former New Mexico State Director of the BLM.  Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2025/podcast/whats-ahead-for-americas-public-lands-with-jesse-juen-former-blm-state-director/  

Today we're digging into a deceptively simple tool with big impacts on water and soil health: rock weirs. Rancher and Working Wild Challenge director Erik Kalsta joins us from Montana's Big Hole Valley to explain how he uses these low-tech structures to slow water and reduce erosion on his operation. He shares what he's learned from years of observing the land — and why small interventions can create big change. Show notes: https://onland.westernlandowners.org/2025/podcast/using-rock-weirs-to-slow-water-in-the-big-hole-valley-with-rancher-erik-kalsta/