In the woods of northern New Mexico lies the history of people and place, of stories and family. The culture of a landscape varies as much as the rise and fall of mountains, the coming and going of trees over time, the hiss of wind.

In this episode, The Forgotten Willows of Jarita Mesa, we speak with longtime New Mexico local, Luis Torres, about his legacy of engagement with community and nature, his stories of living and learning from the environment, his thoughts on collaboration, and his connection to his favorite spot on this planet, Jarita Mesa.

A special thanks to Luis Torres. Music by Zebulon Krol.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service, and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

Aldo Leopold once lived in a cabin in New Mexico near Tres Piedras. His time there left an impression, not so much for what he did while he lived there – he was only at the cabin for around 9 months – but for who he would become. His legacy has persisted over time, manifesting itself in the quaint and rustic cabin, reaching out to those who stay there, and especially to the person who maintains the cabin, Richard Rubin, a retired medical doctor who now writes his own books, creating his own legacy that's intertwined with Leopold's.

In this episode, Thinking Like a Mountain, we talk with Richard Rubin about his life, his time taking care of Aldo Leopold's old cabin, and the sense of stewardship it all inspires.

A special thanks to Richard Rubin. Check out his books at Nighthawk Press. Music by Zebulon Krol.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service, and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

Fire. The word itself is powerful, conjuring up conflicting images of fear and also comfort, of destruction and barbecues. Fire is not a malicious force. It has no more malicious intentions than a penny falling from a skyscraper. But the impacts can range from helpful to horrible, depending on how humans interact and have historically interacted with the landscape.

This is a story of when fire helped. It’s a story that often isn’t told but one that can spark renewed belief of how our actions can in fact lead to a better outcome. That does not mean, however, that we can do it every time for every fire. It does mean that we can do some things, most notably accept the natural and inevitable existence of fire. Because fire, well, fire is life.

In this episode, Fire is Life, we talk with Angie Krall, the West Zone District Ranger on the Carson National Forest, about the Midnight Fire, long-term thinking, and the necessity of fire.

Want to know more about the Midnight Fire? Watch this movie, Goodnight, Midnight.

A special thanks to Angie Krall. Music by Zebulon Krol.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service, and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

We have the power to change the notion of watershed in an instant, connecting spaces in unforeseen ways through things like diversions. The upper Navajo River in southern Colorado is one such example, where water is diverted from the San Juan River basin into the Rio Chama and eventually the Rio Grande, providing the majority of drinking water for Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The headwaters of the Navajo River therefore jump out as a vital location for how we think about land, forests, fire, and especially water. Because water, well, water is life. In this episode, Water is Life, we talk with Tim Haarmann, who manages a large-acre ranch that encompasses the entire Navajo River headwaters about his life,  responsibility, humility, and connection.

A special thanks to Tim Haarmann and the Banded Peak Ranch. Music by Zebulon Krol.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service, and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

What would nature do? We often don't know until a critical piece of nature no longer functions, and we have to replace it. If we want that replacement to last, it must align with the way nature already works. It is not a machine with parts, but an ecosystem of emergence. What does that mean to embody the critical connection in nature? What does it mean to embody a beaver!? Stream restoration starts with pushing the understanding of how streams work and how much they rely on beavers. This episode of The Dirt and Dust, Becoming Beavers explores the idea of imitating nature to help restore a stream system all in the hopes that beavers come back and do the work themselves.

Like beavers? Read Eager: The Surprising , Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb.

A special thanks to Reid Whittlesey, Anders Hastings, Whitesun Yazzie, and Peter Watson from Rio Grande Return. Learn more at https://riograndereturn.org/.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

With enough time, we can all become attentive to the place we exist, though we must be intentional in that endeavor. What better way to learn the work of being present than from the assiduous, industrious, and philosophical monks of the Christ in the Desert Monastery.

In this episode, Alex talks with Brother David about his role at the monastery and his sense of duty and purpose. Then, Alex continues the conversation with Brother Bede, delving deeper into the idea of knowing the landscape and ourselves better - something the 2-3-2 actively strives to do.

A special thanks to Brother Bede Bissonnette and Brother David. Learn more at https://christdesert.org/.  Also, check out Brother David's YouTube channel, The Desert Monk, https://www.youtube.com/c/thedesertmonk.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

How can we find stability? How can we work towards a stable future? 

The Rio Chama is the beating heart of the eponymous Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, the largest project of the 2-3-2 Partnership. Along the river lies the Christ in the Desert Monastery where Brother Bede Bissonnette's curiosity leads him to ask questions about the environment whose implications go far beyond the monastery's boundary.

Understanding the conditions in which we live helps us make decisions toward that stable existence, in our immediate vicinity and by revealing the connections to the greater surroundings. Stability? Stability takes work.

A special thanks to Brother Bede Bissonnette and the Christ in the Desert Monastery. Learn more at https://christdesert.org/.  Also a special thanks to Rosy Verdile, https://rosebudshandcrafted.com/.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2 at 232partnership.org.

Where does the 2-3-2 Partnership start? It's a hard question, on par with asking where an ocean wave starts, meaning that the genesis of a multidimensional collaborative project cannot be attributed to one particular moment.

Or can it?

During several conversations, your host, Alex Handloff learned that a bar in Chama, NM was the location of a foundational moment in the 2-3-2's formation. No better way to find out than to visit the bar, explore Chama, and talk to the people who live there.

In this episode, A Bar in Chama, Alex investigates what the idea of community and identity mean in the 2-3-2 landscape, with an interview of local Chama personality, Sage Faulkner. Was the 2-3-2 a creation or a culmination? Was it emergence or convergence? Listen to learn more.

A special thanks to Sage Faulkner, Page Buono, and Fosters Hotel and Bar.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2.

How do you know space? How are you shaped by the landscape you live in?

The folks at the 2 Watersheds - 3 Rivers - 2 States Cohesive Strategy Partnership (the 2-3-2) like to remind themselves that their work is the world we live in, the one right in front of our noses (once we leave the office).

But what about beyond our noses? For example, how can we know five million acres?

Five million acres happens to be the size of the 2 Watersheds - 3 Rivers - 2 States Cohesive Strategy Partnership (the 2-3-2), who works collaboratively, bringing together government agencies, tribal partners, non-profits, community members, and more to make decisions collectively about our forests, rivers, wildlife, and communities in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico,.

The 2-3-2 recently created an audio storytelling series, The Dirt and Dust, to explore questions and stories across the landscape. The first episode, Five Million Acres or Roughly the Size of the Moon, follows Alex Handloff, Collaborative Communications Manager at Mountain Studies Institute, who caught up with a through hiker on the 2-3-2 landscape, covering 35 miles in a couple of days on the Continental Divide Trail, exploring the idea of knowing a large landscape more intimately by walking through it.

A special thanks to Jefferson Schleifer.

The Dirt and Dust is brought to you by the 2-3-2, Mountain Studies Institute, the Forest Stewards Guild, the USDA Forest Service and Zebulon Krol.

Want to hear more? Listen to our audio story map to hear the history of the 2-3-2.