The Art of Range Podcast

The National Grazing Lands Coalition (NatGLC) promotes and supports ecologically and economically sound management of grazing lands for multiple benefits to the environment and society through science-based technical assistance, research, and education. Bill Fox has been with NatGLC since the beginning. In this interview, Dr. Fox offers a condensed history of NatGLC and what the organization is doing now. We visit with Jack Field about the June 2025 summer tour in Washington State.

From the tour website: "Pacific Pastures promises to be an unforgettable grazing tour, bringing together farmers, ranchers, and agriculture industry professionals. Participants will have the unique opportunity to network and engage with peers in a stunning backdrop that highlights the diverse landscapes and rich agricultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. The event will feature an immersive experience that showcases innovative farming practices, sustainable ranching techniques, and the region's unique character. Attendees can look forward to forging valuable connections, sharing insights, and exploring the vibrant agricultural community that defines this remarkable region. Don't miss the chance to be part of this enriching experience that celebrates the heart of Pacific agriculture."

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-154-national-grazing-lands-coalition-summer-tour-pacific-northwest for the full transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Does grazing management make a difference? Can we raise livestock and wildlife and take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it in soil on the same piece of land? Meet Peter Byck, self-described scientist wrangler and producer of Roots So Deep, a four-part documentary series that explores the world of adaptive cattle farmers and their conventional farming neighbors. Adaptive multi-paddock grazing is one of the faces of regenerative agriculture. Listen to this interview to learn about researched results from caring for land well. The Roots So Deep documentary film series shows, rather than tells, how we can have our cake and eat it too -- how grazing patterns can increase soil carbon, increase wildlife diversity, reduce water runoff and soil erosion, and improve financial health of family farms.

This work is supported by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, project award no. 2022-38640-37487 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-155-roots-so-deep-you-can-see-devil-down-there-filmmaker-peter-byck for the full transcript and links to resources mentioned in this episode.

The concept of carrying capacity has figured prominently in rangeland ecology and wildlife biology for a century and more. Where did this term come from? Nathan Sayre, a cultural geographer at UC-Berkeley and the author of the book "Politics of Scale - a History of Rangeland Science," answers this question.

According to Sayre, "It is a truism that the Earth’s resources are finite, and that human demands must therefore be kept within some bounds. But this idea has a history fraught with intellectual and political problems. My work on scarcity, carrying capacity, and related ideas explores how these terms and concepts emerged, traces their shifting meanings over time, and reveals their hidden assumptions and flaws."

Our conversation centers around an article he wrote titled "The Genesis, History, and Limits of Carrying Capacity." The origins of the idea and the term, which has been controversial socially, ecologically, and economically, may surprise you.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Visit the episode page to download the article or access the full transcript of this interview: https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-152-nathan-sayre-genesis-and-limits-carrying-capacity

Can Farmer-Founded Fibers Save American Fashion? Cate Havstad-Casad, founder of RangeRevolution leather goods, and Daniel Mouw, president of Duckworth wool clothing answered this question in a pre-panel interview at SXSW with Ed Roberson joining in. If Duckworth and Range Revolution are not on your radar screen, and if Mountain & Prairie Podcast isn't in your podcast feed, they should be now. Ed interviewed Cate and Daniel in a SXSW talk the day after we recorded this preparatory interview. We discuss supply chain challenges, what is fashion, the recent renaissance of wool, and why natural fibers are superior to synthetics (let me count the ways).

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-153-back-future-american-fibers-cate-havstad-daniel-mouw-ed-roberson-sxsw for links and the transcript of this interview.

The Sterling Wildlife Management Area in southeast Idaho suffered from accumulated dead cattails, bulrushes, and grasses. Wildlife the area is intended habitat for were avoiding it, especially migratory waterfowl. This Life on the Range story with rancher Chase Carter and biologist Maria Pacioretty describes their successful efforts to use targeted grazing in winter to consume and transform the overburden of dead vegetation.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Access the rest of the story and the excellent video on this project from https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-151-targeted-grazing-wetland-health-maria-pacioretty-chase-carter, where you can also find a full transcript of this interview.

Bildo Saravia is the owner and manager of Rancho el Ojo and Origien Raiz Mezcal. His story showcases the ways global marketing and communication can benefit local people oriented around rangeland economies. By "grazing the wild" he is growing agave in sustainable polyculture with a diversity of other native plants for livestock and wildlife in Durango, Mexico.

Go to the episode page, https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-150-bildo-saravia-lauren-svejcar-artisanal-mezcal-ranching-mexico, for links and the full transcript.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

Dr. Germino’s latest research, published in the Communications Earth & Environment journal in November 2024, reveals a startling and significant finding: invasive grasses are turning western U.S. rangelands from valuable carbon sinks into potential carbon sources. This research, a two-year collaboration between the US Geological Survey and Envu, provides the first comprehensive assessment of the impact of invasive annual grasses, like cheatgrass, on soil carbon stocks. The study found that the conversion of native perennial shrublands to these invasive grasslands can result in a 42-49% reduction in soil carbon, releasing a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It also found that wildfire and grass invasion had a similar impact on soil carbon stocks, a surprising finding that challenges previous assumptions about the relative impacts of these disturbances. Dr. Germino is joined by another study author, Dr. Harry Quicke from Envu. They discuss implications of this new research for rangeland management and potential solutions. This is part 2 of the discussion. To hear the first part, go to episode 147.

A full transcript of the episode and links to articles are at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-149-wildfire-depletes-ecosystem-carbon-storage-50-part-2-germino-maxwell-quicke.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

A research study in the mountains of Idaho tracked cheatgrass consumption by sheep in the spring and fall. Listen to Kelly Hopping (Boise State University) and sheep rancher Riley Kowitz describe their experiences with implementing this approach to controlling invasive annual grass and changing the wildfire risk profile on the Sawtooth National Forest. Go to https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-148-targeted-cheatgrass-grazing-research-sheep-kelly-hopping-riley-kowitz to see the video and read the full story.

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.

How does wildfire affect soil carbon, the ecological currency of the 21st century? Careful collaborative research involving US Geological Survey scientists, Envu, and Boise State University has begun to answer some of the many questions surrounding soil carbon and fire. This is the first of a two-part interview on soil carbon storage, sequestration mechanisms, effects of wildfire and plant community shifts, and management implications. Be sure to read the Open Access paper at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-147-wildfire-depletes-ecosystem-carbon-storage-50-part-1-germino-maxwell-quicke, where you will also find the usual transcript and links to other resources.

Angus's family has managed the Wyndham Station near the Anabranch and Darling Rivers in southern Australia for 4 generations. That and the promise of a great Australian accent should be enough to make you listen to this episode. But we also discuss managing the earth's Living Skin, Angus's efforts to get others to think broadly about caring for land and livestock and all living things, including improving health care for humans in remote areas. It's a small world, and Angus's challenges in the Land Down Under are quite similar to those in North America.

Find a transcript and links for this episode at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-146-angus-whyte-sheep-grazing-new-south-wales-australia

The Art of Range Podcast is supported by Vence, a subsidiary of Merck Animal Health; the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission; and the Western Extension Risk Management Education Center.