The University of Wyoming Extension has published a new interview-based report identifying key changes, challenges and opportunities encountered by ranchers in Wyoming’s Upper Wind River Basin.
The goal of the study was to “understand how Wyoming ranchers experience and perceive environmental and social changes and how those changes may impact their operation, management decisions and, ultimately, their livelihoods,” explains UW Extension educator Callie Surber, co-author of the new publication.
Surber’s report, released last month, is based on 38 interviews with local ranchers in summer 2024. Discussion topics ranged from drought and water availability to beef market volatility and grazing policies.
“While we conducted the research in the Wind River Basin, there are broader applications across the state and the West,” Surber comments. “Anyone who works with livestock producers in Wyoming or has an interest in challenges facing the ranching industry might be interested in the findings.”
Most of Surber’s interviewees agreed that economic viability was one of the most important considerations when making management decisions. Citing factors like unprecedented inflation, some ranchers expressed concerns about reaching a tipping point at which they would be “priced out.”
Interviewees reported using various diversification strategies to improve their bottom line. Some, for example, were already leveraging the state’s growing outdoor recreation and tourism industry.
Many ranchers voiced concerns about absentee landowners purchasing former agricultural land. They observed that this trend has driven up property values and taxes, reduced local agricultural outputs, and prevented younger operators from entering the industry.
Drought was another top concern. Some interviewees noted hotter and longer summers in the Wind River Basin as well as increased storm severity. Many reported efforts to increase irrigation efficiency.
Other concerns included invasive weeds, especially cheatgrass, as well as wolf depredation, feral horse populations, and increasing land fragmentation.
Interviewees emphasized that managing challenging environmental and economic conditions often requires timely action. For ranchers holding grazing permits for public or tribal lands, that means seeking approval to carry out changes. In nearly every interview, agency policies were discussed. Many interviewees expressed frustration with wait times for approval of changes like adjusting grazing timing, altering fencing or installing solar wells.
Surber and co-author Corrine Knapp, associate professor in UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, concluded that “it is increasingly important for resources to be focused on federal, state, and tribal rangeland management. Increasing personnel and focusing on staff retention can expand the capacity of local land managers and enable them to work alongside ranchers to facilitate effective grazing under fluctuating year-to-year forage conditions, for instance.”
Despite the many challenges they articulated, most ranchers expressed no interest in selling out. Most also conveyed a strong commitment to environmental stewardship.
“Interviews reinforced that ranching facilitates purposeful land stewardship and is a critical conservation tool,” Surber and Knapp wrote. “In almost every interaction, ranchers discussed their reciprocal relationship with and deep connection to rangelands.”
To view the full text, visit https://bit.ly/wind-river-rancher-perspectives.
