The Modern West

For westerners, watching the fires burn through Los Angeles in the middle of winter feels like deja vu. It was only four years ago that the Marshall Fire raged through the town of Louisville, outside Boulder, Colorado. That fire is now considered the most costly fire in Colorado history. But that deja vu is especially acute for those who survived the Marshall Fire. Like Ariel Lavery’s family. An update from our 2023 season The Burn Scar.

Wildfires are getting closer and closer to home. A new podcast by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science asks some really good questions about our relationship to fire in the American West. Like, can we learn to coexist with fire in the West?  United By Fire explores our relationship with the land amid rapidly changing wildfire behavior in a world that’s burning hotter and faster than ever.

Some think the cowboy has gone riding off into the sunset, never to return. But in our final episode, we hear stories of resilience and community pride. We return to Antonito, CO to hear how Aaron Abeyta started a school there to teach children that success doesn’t mean fleeing your hometown. It means staying to celebrate the unique heritage of the community.

Wyoming helped develop western water law, including the very idea that public waters belong to all of us. But the state’s reluctance to update its laws has left ranchers scrambling to protect their streams and wells, as drought and water hoarding make water scarcer than ever.

The Endangered Species Act helped bring the Yellowstone-area grizzly population back from the brink of extinction. It also sparked controversy over a question that looms over more species than just grizzly bears: How do we balance the needs of endangered wildlife with the needs of humans?

A few years ago, the May family set off on a trailblazing path to protect their land, and the carbon it stores, by selling carbon credits on the global market.  By promising to never plow the land, the Mays store carbon and protect native wildlife. But with diminishing margins and the looming threat of fire, the road hasn’t been easy.

The Rardins are father and son cowboys watching climate change threaten their way of life. They’ve given up on the old idea of “get big or get out” and joined the regenerative ranching movement. Inspired by how bison improve the land, they raise cattle to protect grasses and reduce emissions. But for many, it's still a financial risk.

Ranchers are having a really hard time these days. They’ve got more drought, more conflict, expensive land, high rates of suicide, just to name a few. But this fall the University of Wyoming launched a new agricultural leadership degree. The goal is to re-envision the rancher of the future. This summer, a Wyoming kid named Ethan Mills became the first registered student in the program. We tag along as he attends a ranch camp.

We follow the cow’s journey from the mountain pasture to the feedlot and eventually the slaughterhouse. Along the way, we hear from animal welfare advocate Temple Grandin and cattle handlers who all want a fairer, more humane market – and one not so monopolized by large corporations.

We head to Wyoming’s Red Desert - and hear the history of the 19th century range wars. They led to laws requiring grazing fees and regular land health check-ups. But over a century later, some say these regulations haven’t done enough to protect our wild spaces. Not to mention our climate.