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Acrobat Reader PDF You will need the free acrobat reader for all documents marked with this icon: Get it »	WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE WEST? The history of the American West is deeply connected to its immense and stunning landscape, and those individuals that built their lives and livelihoods in this rugged terrain. Generations of ranching families have cared for the land, kept local economies alive, and provided agricultural products for American families. These biologically rich lands now face enormous threats to their very existence. This in turn threatens open space, wildlife habitat and migration corridors, water and air quality, and a traditional way of life- all of which have defined the Western landscape as a unique and distinctly American treasure. Recommended Reading View the list » Check out some articles Ranches key to conservation in rocky mountains Protect native species even better than some reserves Research suggests that ranches help protect biodiversity and future conservation efforts may require less reliance on reserves and a greater focus on private lands. Read More » Ranching as a Conservation Strategy: Can Old Ranchers Save the New West? Working ranches are often promoted as means of private rangeland conservation because they can safeguard ecosystem services, protect open space, and maintain traditional ranching culture. To understand the potential for generating broad social benefits from what have come to be called ‘‘working landscapes,’’ one must consider the synergies of people, environment, and institutions needed to accomplish conservation, as well as complicating factors of scale and uncertainty. Read More » Read our Frequently Asked Questions with WSGALT's Bo Bowman » Effects of Exurban Development on Wildlife and Plant Communities Privately owner ranches in the Mountain West are being sold and subdivided into ranchettes at a breath taking pace and the consequences for native plants and wildlife could be dire. Read More » Read our Frequently Asked Questions with WSGALT's Bo Bowman »
	In the Rocky Mountain region, over 350 acres of agricultural lands are converted to development every day. In the next 10-15 years we will witness the largest transference of land in our nations’ history. What is driving this change in land ownership and land use? Check out some articles Loss of Open Space Between 1982 and 2001, approximately 34 million acres of open space (an area the size of Illinois) were lost to development – approximately 4 acres per minute or 6,000 acres a day. Read More » Western Ranching at the Crossroads Current challenges to western ranching include rapid urbanization, declining profitability, escalating concern over endangered species, uncertain knowledge of land use trends and land condition, noxious plant invasion, and growing environmental opposition to public land grazing. Read More » Fragmentation of Land Ownership and its Impact on the Economy and the Environment Continuing fragmentation of land hurts ranching, hunting and wildlife conservation. It is an issue that is common to these groups, and requires a cooperative strategy among them. As 20-acre "ranchettes" replace the traditional ranch, rural activities including ranching and hunting are becoming less a part of the landscape. Fragmented land also makes managing for wildlife throughout the full range of their habitat more difficult. Read More »
PLN Resources Agricultural Conservation Easements An agricultural conservation easement (ACE) is a deed restriction that landowners voluntarily place on their land to keep it available for agriculture. Read More »	The average age of farmers and ranchers is over 60 years old, leaving families to decide what retirement will bring, and whether or not the next generation can afford to keep the land in its current use. Inheritance taxes alone can drive the common land-rich, cash-poor rancher to fragment land and sell to development, just to pay the bills. According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, more than 111 million acres of land in farms in the Rocky Mountain region are managed by operators 55 years old and older. Land is most vulnerable to development pressures when it passes from one owner to the next, even within a family. One of the greatest pressures in the transition process that pushes the land into development is estate taxes. Ranchers who don't plan for this run into great financial challenges when it comes time to pass on the ranch. Ranchers are usually land-rich and cash-poor so there is not enough cash in the estate at transfer time to pay the taxes, thats when the developers come knocking with their quick cash out plans. Farm transition and estate planning are private ways that farmers and ranchers can protect their land—often with the use of agricultural conservation easements. Agricultural conservation easements put the market's shoulder to work for ranchers by capturing the economic value of conservation, while allowing ranching to maintain its traditional economic and cultural roles in western communities. Check out some articles Saving ranchlands doesn’t mean saving the rancher Over the next decade, more than half the ranches in the region will change hands, as an aging population of ranchers sells to newcomers or passes their lands on to heirs who are more interested in the land’s monetary value than in continuing an economically challenged tradition. Read More » Who will take over the ranch? Private land of the West is being transformed before our eyes. A lot of the best, most productive land in the West are the private lands Read More »
	Land values have risen exponentially as people are willing, and can afford, to pay top dollar for second homes and ranchettes in pristine settings. Urban/suburban sprawl and rapid development near state and national parks are also driving the market for land. Subsurface mineral extraction and energy development on private and public lands are minimizing grazing territories, increasing pollution, decreasing wildlife habitat, and affecting water quality. Ranchers are dependant on permits to graze on public lands, but face competition with energy explorations which degrade the landscape and affect livestock and wildlife alike. Check out some articles The Great Rancher Class An analysis of the economic and emotional drivers in Wyoming beef agriculture This thesis investigates some of the factors that affect the well being of the 'great farmer class' in the twenty first century and its likelyhood to continue in, or exit from, production agriculture. Read More »
	Rocky Mountain Agricultural Landowners Guide to Conservation and Sustainability The Rocky Mountain Agricultural Landowners Guide addresses the critical need to protect U.S. working farms and ranches. In this guide, you will find information outlining tools and federal and state programs to help farmers and ranchers conserve their land and maintain its long-term health for future generations. Read it! »
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