Welcome Salem Saloom and John Schmidt to the board of Partnerscapes!

Three ranchers and board directors of Partnerscapes share their stories from the "origins" of what began as Partners for Conservation - and is still growing!

In 2001, rancher Russell Davis learned he had a bird on his land that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) wanted to list under the Endangered Species Act: the Mountain Plover. The rest is history!

This is the fourth and last in a series of articles focusing on PFC Director Gary Price and his family’s 77 Ranch in Texas. Gary Price first set foot on his ranch land when he was eight years old, as a guest. Little did he know that ownership of that land was in his future.

This is the third in a series of articles focusing on PFC Director Gary Price and his family’s 77 Ranch in Texas. Gary Price, owner of 77 Ranch in north central Texas, has placed more and more emphasis over the years on what the consumer wants so that he can get the best price for his cattle. His first stop on this journey, which began about 10 years ago, was to convert his herd to crossbred Angus cows that can produce Certified Angus calves, which “has been great.” His cattle are also certified all-natural, meaning no antibiotics and hormones, and he has systems in place for tracking individual animals in the event some require doctoring. To meet the demand for beef from Europe, Gary must be able to verify the age of his cattle as well. Since the mad cow disease scare, most countries in Europe will not accept cattle over 30 months old (as the disease is very rare in cattle this young). Likewise, restaurant chains want to be able to name and trace the beef they serve to its place of origin. “We have nothing to hide,” says Gary. “We hire IMI Global out of Denver as a third-party auditor and another company out of Washington, DC verifies us on animal welfare. All of these things add value because they are what the consumer wants, and they separate us from those who sell beef as a commodity.” Ecosystem [...]

This is the second in a series of articles focusing on PFC Director Gary Price and his family’s 77 Ranch in Texas. Around the turn of the 20th century, the Blackland Prairie region of Northeast Texas supported a massive amount of cotton production. “Navarro County, where we’re located, had more cotton than than any other county in the country,” says Gary Price.

This is the first in a series of articles focusing on PFC Director Gary Price and his family’s 77 Ranch in Texas. “We are very fortunate to be on the ranch. Most days, we can wander around without interacting with people.” So begins the tale of how the Covid epidemic is affecting the award-winning 77 Ranch in east Texas, owned and operated by Partners for Conservation Director Gary Price and his wife and son.

Legal and environmental historian and conservationist, Lowell E. Baier has recently published a new book, Saving Species on Private Lands: Unlocking Incentives to Conserve Wildlife and Their Habitats.

Partners for Conservation board and staff hope that you, your family and all of those individuals important to you are staying healthy during this pandemic, which will certainly become a part of our shared history.

Partners for Conservation was honored to serve as a co-convener for the first Western Collaborative Conservation Network (WCCN) Confluence held March 10-12 at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado.