Best Nathan Roberson Podcasts (2025)

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AoR 160: Dan Dagget on People's Contributions to Nature and Ecosystem Successes in the Southwest 1:00:25

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8d ago1:00:25

1:00:25

Dan Dagget was one of the original members of EarthFirst!, one of the more radical environmental activist organizations of the last 50 years. In his efforts to achieve health for the Earth’s ecosystems, however, he found himself conflicted over environmentalism’s means and the ends those means actually achieved. With that in mind, he began investig…

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AoR 159: Can Creative Arts Affect Public Perception about Rangelands? A Brief Musing by Tip 30:23

22d ago30:23

30:23

"Let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws." People think they are primarily 'thinking things', but this quote by a musician from ancient Athens speaks to the fact that most of our decision-making and the direction of our efforts in the world are shaped more by our affections. Creative and expressive arts are hugely inf…

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AoR 158: Frank Stick, Splendid Painter of the Out-of-Doors, by biographer Mike Mordell 44:02

1M ago44:02

44:02

Visual arts that draw attention to wild, open spaces have been culturally important in the United States. The outdoors painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were instrumental in making Americans aware of spectacularly beautiful places most people would not know about otherwise. And they catalyzed efforts to conserve these landscapes fo…

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AoR 157: Grazing for Fine Fuels Management and Wildfire Mitigation, with Sergio Arispe 57:11

2M ago57:11

57:11

Can we effectively limit wildfire risk or change the fire risk profile using deliberate grazing? Or is this just wishful, simplistic thinking: "Cows eat fine fuel so that stops fire, right?" These are questions that demand scientific answers, not just anecdotes or coffee shop opinions. Sergio Arispe has worked with other researchers in the Western …

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AoR 156: 15 Years of Life on the Range with Steve Stuebner & Gretchen Hyde 1:11:34

2M ago1:11:34

1:11:34

Over 15 years ago, the veteran journalist Steve Stuebner and Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission executive Gretchen Hyde set out to use the new media landscape to tell good news stories about rangeland landscapes and the unique people who care for them. This has been a wildly successful venture that has reached far beyond the borders of Idaho. Lis…

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AoR 154: National Grazing Lands Coalition & Summer Tour in the Pacific Northwest 58:28

3M ago58:28

58:28

The National Grazing Lands Coalition (NatGLC) promotes and supports ecologically and economically sound management of grazing lands for multiple benefits to the environment and society through science-based technical assistance, research, and education. Bill Fox has been with NatGLC since the beginning. In this interview, Dr. Fox offers a condensed…

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AoR 155: Roots So Deep You Can See the Devil Down There, with filmmaker Peter Byck 1:09:50

3M ago1:09:50

1:09:50

Does grazing management make a difference? Can we raise livestock and wildlife and take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it in soil on the same piece of land? Meet Peter Byck, self-described scientist wrangler and producer of Roots So Deep, a four-part documentary series that explores the world of adaptive cattle farmers and their conventional …

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AoR 152: Nathan Sayre on the Genesis and Limits of Carrying Capacity 1:05:49

4M ago1:05:49

1:05:49

The concept of carrying capacity has figured prominently in rangeland ecology and wildlife biology for a century and more. Where did this term come from? Nathan Sayre, a cultural geographer at UC-Berkeley and the author of the book "Politics of Scale - a History of Rangeland Science," answers this question. According to Sayre, "It is a truism that …

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AoR 153: Back to the Future with American Fibers - Cate Havstad, Daniel Mouw, & Ed Roberson at SXSW 1:12:48

4M ago1:12:48

1:12:48

Can Farmer-Founded Fibers Save American Fashion? Cate Havstad-Casad, founder of RangeRevolution leather goods, and Daniel Mouw, president of Duckworth wool clothing answered this question in a pre-panel interview at SXSW with Ed Roberson joining in. If Duckworth and Range Revolution are not on your radar screen, and if Mountain & Prairie Podcast is…

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AoR 151: Targeted Grazing for Wetland Health - Maria Pacioretty & Chase Carter 1:04:15

4M ago1:04:15

1:04:15

The Sterling Wildlife Management Area in southeast Idaho suffered from accumulated dead cattails, bulrushes, and grasses. Wildlife the area is intended habitat for were avoiding it, especially migratory waterfowl. This Life on the Range story with rancher Chase Carter and biologist Maria Pacioretty describes their successful efforts to use targeted…

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AoR 150: Bildo Saravia & Lauren Svejcar - Artisanal Mezcal & Ranching in Mexico 1:08:30

4M ago1:08:30

1:08:30

Bildo Saravia is the owner and manager of Rancho el Ojo and Origien Raiz Mezcal. His story showcases the ways global marketing and communication can benefit local people oriented around rangeland economies. By "grazing the wild" he is growing agave in sustainable polyculture with a diversity of other native plants for livestock and wildlife in Dura…

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AoR 149: Wildfire Depletes Ecosystem Carbon Storage by >50% (Part 2) -- Germino, Maxwell, & Quicke 56:57

5M ago56:57

56:57

Dr. Germino’s latest research, published in the Communications Earth & Environment journal in November 2024, reveals a startling and significant finding: invasive grasses are turning western U.S. rangelands from valuable carbon sinks into potential carbon sources. This research, a two-year collaboration between the US Geological Survey and Envu, pr…

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AoR 148: Targeted Cheatgrass Grazing Research with Sheep -- Kelly Hopping & Riley Kowitz 53:37

5M ago53:37

53:37

A research study in the mountains of Idaho tracked cheatgrass consumption by sheep in the spring and fall. Listen to Kelly Hopping (Boise State University) and sheep rancher Riley Kowitz describe their experiences with implementing this approach to controlling invasive annual grass and changing the wildfire risk profile on the Sawtooth National For…

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AoR 147: Wildfire Depletes Ecosystem Carbon Storage by >50% (Part 1) -- Germino, Maxwell, & Quicke 1:07:50

6M ago1:07:50

1:07:50

How does wildfire affect soil carbon, the ecological currency of the 21st century? Careful collaborative research involving US Geological Survey scientists, Envu, and Boise State University has begun to answer some of the many questions surrounding soil carbon and fire. This is the first of a two-part interview on soil carbon storage, sequestration…

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AoR 146: Angus Whyte - Sheep Grazing in New South Wales, Australia 53:53

6M ago53:53

53:53

Angus's family has managed the Wyndham Station near the Anabranch and Darling Rivers in southern Australia for 4 generations. That and the promise of a great Australian accent should be enough to make you listen to this episode. But we also discuss managing the earth's Living Skin, Angus's efforts to get others to think broadly about caring for lan…

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AoR 145: Dr. John Buckhouse, Part 2, Reflections on a Half Century of Thinking in Wholes 31:31

7M ago31:31

31:31

Riparian management, water quality, and livestock grazing used in the same sentence can warm up a room with heated discussion. John Buckhouse has spent a lifetime contending for the Radical Middle, where people recognize that land conditions that are good for fish are also good for cattle. He has effectively advocated for and led collaborative reso…

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AoR 144: Jay Wilde, Idaho Rancher, Builds Beaver Habitat to Restore Stockwater 46:27

7M ago46:27

46:27

"We have to think of beavers as our friend instead of our foe; for these watersheds to be healthy, you need beaver.” Rancher Jay Wilde experienced a paradigm shift some years ago that convinced him beavers were necessary to hold more water higher in the watershed for longer and that this hydrologic change would benefit a cattle operation in numerou…

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AoR 143: Dr. John Buckhouse, Reflections on a Half Century of Thinking in Wholes, Part 1 48:44

8M ago48:44

48:44

Riparian management, water quality, and livestock grazing used in the same sentence can warm up a room with heated discussion. John Buckhouse has spent a lifetime contending for the Radical Middle, where people recognize that land conditions that are good for fish are also good for cattle. He has effectively advocated for and led collaborative reso…

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AoR 142: Understanding Grazing Effects on Soil Carbon, the sequel with Dr. Paige Stanley 1:15:17

9M ago1:15:17

1:15:17

How do undergrazing and overgrazing affect soil carbon change? What does "optimal grazing" look like? This sequel episode with Paige Stanley goes deeper into the ways grazing factors affect the ecophysiology elements that are responsible for generating or release the various kinds of soil carbon. These changes remain difficult to quantify, but we c…

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AoR 141: New Rangeland Wildlife Ecology & Conservation reference manual -- Lance McNew & Jeff Beck 51:34

9M ago51:34

51:34

"The fields of rangeland and wildlife management are brothers in the same fight for the conservation, protection, and management of wildlife and one cannot be completely understood without knowledge of the other." --Paul Krausman. This quote from the foreword of a new edited volume on wildlife ecology highlights the integrated nature of rangeland s…

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AoR 140: Unsung Caretakers of Unseen Land -- Mark & Wendy Pratt, Idaho Ranchers 1:08:28

10M ago1:08:28

1:08:28

Meet Mark and Wendy Pratt, ordinary people doing unglamorous work with extraordinary care. C.S. Lewis said "we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is frustrating . . . to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to ke…

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AoR 139: StockSmart - Sustainable Grazing Starts with Good Forage Production Data 55:03

10M ago55:03

55:03

Forage on semi-arid rangelands is finite but variable across space and over time. And grazing decisions start with balancing animal forage demand with forage supply, a significant challenge in vast and varied landscapes. In this episode, Matt Reeves, Sonia Hall, and Tip discuss StockSmart, the new free, online decision support tool just launched th…

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AoR 138: BOSH Project Restores Sagebrush Sea at Grand Scale - Maestas, White, & Stuebner 1:08:15

11M ago1:08:15

1:08:15

The Bruneau Owyhee Sage Grouse Habitat (BOSH) project is a collaborative partnership of state and federal agencies, wildlife advocacy groups, and private landowners to restore native upland landscapes in Southwest Idaho to a more natural condition benefitting sage grouse, songbirds, antelope, spotted frogs and other wildlife. Conifer encroachment i…

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AoR 137: Art of Range mid-2024 Update 3:13

11M ago3:13

3:13

Thank you for your patience as we shift funding sources and work into a slightly different approach to content. This brief piece describes these changes and previews upcoming episodes.By Tip Hudson

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AoR 136: "Politics of Scale - a History of Rangeland Science", with Nathan Sayre (re-release) 1:20:14

11M ago1:20:14

1:20:14

Dr. Nathan Sayre has written a delightful book on the origins and history of rangelands science, public ownership, agency management, and grazing philosophy in the United States. Join Tip and Nathan as they discuss his background building fence on ranches on the Southwest, his pathway to the sociology of rangelands, and then surprising findings in …

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AoR 135: Are Cows "Tools"? The Effects of Language with Anna Clare Monlezun 51:05

1y ago51:05

51:05

Our language both reveals and shapes our internal philosophy about all of the beings and things in the world. And it guides our behaviors and interactions with those things -- humans, animals, plants, and non-living things. Yet these below-the-hood inclinations are formed very informally, usually without conscious thought. This interview with Anna …

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AoR 134: Contextual Grazing Management & Patterns, with Jim Howell 1:12:17

1y ago1:12:17

1:12:17

Maybe there is no silver bullet, no holy grail of grazing. But there are patterns of grazing impacts that work well for particular plant communities, and good grazing managers give attention to these effects and modify them over time to achieve landscape goals. Jim Howell is the founder of Grasslands, LLC, a ranch management company that directs gr…

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AoR 133: Ruminating on Soil Carbon with Paige Stanley, Jim Howell, Ariel Greenwood, & Chris Wilson 1:26:28

1y ago1:26:28

1:26:28

"Decades of scientific research on grazing and soil organic carbon (SOC) has failed to form a cohesive understanding of how grazing management affects SOC stocks -- characterized by different formation and stabilization pathways—across different climatic contexts." This quote from the introduction to the review paper "Ruminating on soil carbon: App…

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AoR 132: Are Agrivoltaics a Viable New Frontier in Green Energy? with Anna Clare Monlezun 47:51

1y ago47:51

47:51

Solar "farms" have met with resistance in Middle America because they often displace food farms, taking arable land out of production. But what if solar energy could be harvested at a utility scale on top of food or forage? This is the face of solar energy research today, and AnnaClare Monlezun is leading some of this research on White Oak Pastures…

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AoR 131: Society for Range Mgmt Plenary 2 "Change on the Range", with Experienced Professionals 1:05:36

1y ago1:05:36

1:05:36

It's been said there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. But in the same way that not all practice makes perfect, only good practice, it's important to listen to people with a proven record of range management success. This panel of experienced range professionals discusses principles that have helped them adapt well personally and professional…

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AoR 130: Society for Range Management Plenary "Change on the Range" with Young Professionals 1:09:02

1y ago1:09:02

1:09:02

It's been said that the only thing that is certain is change. These young rangeland professionals engage in interview discussion around what "Change on the Range" means to them. The 2023 annual meeting plenaries addressed the synthetic nature of rangeland science and the necessity of working across disciplinary and geographic and social boundaries …

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AoR 129: Rangeland Fire Protection Associations with Basque rancher, Mike Guerry 48:09

1y ago48:09

48:09

Neighbors helping neighbors fight fire--this is the goal of Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) according to the Idaho Dept of Lands: "RFPAs empower local landowners to protect their own property and their neighbors’ where fire protection services are limited or not available. RFPAs can also respond to fires nearby that would otherwise t…

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AoR 128: International Rangelands Congress 2025, with Nicole Spiegel & Andrew Ash 51:43

1+ y ago51:43

51:43

Australia is hosting the IRC2025 in Adelaide, and this is the biggest rangelands event leading up to the 2026 UN International Year of Rangelands & Pastoralists. Australia boasts more rangeland than the United States, with wild, open spaces everywhere. Andrew and Nicole discuss uniquenesses of Australia, challenges common to other parts of the worl…

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AoR 127: Ranch Financial Success is Bigger than Per-Cow Profits, Clay Worden & James Rogers 1:13:52

1+ y ago1:13:52

1:13:52

"Layer something on your dirt that increases revenue opportunities and reduces risk." Clay Worden and James Rogers offer capstone comments on The Art of Range ranch financial resiliency series, from the importance of leveraging land assets (the big value in a ranch property) to tracking and managing production unit costs and revenues.Transcript and…

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AoR 126: Renewable Energy, Wildlife, & Grazing with Jeff Tayer, Ryan Stingley, & Jennifer Galbraith 1:25:32

1+ y ago1:25:32

1:25:32

Is it possible to generate renewable energy, beef, and wildlife habitat in the same space? Long-time collaborators Puget Sound Energy, WSU Extension, Stingley Ranches, and Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife have proven the reality of this unlikely combination for more than 15 years on sagebrush ecosystems in the Intermountain West. The Wild Horse C…

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AoR 125: The Human Costs of Catastrophic Wildfire, with Dave Daley 46:53

1+ y ago46:53

46:53

The North Complex Fire of 2020 was estimated to produce more carbon dioxide and pollutants in one week than all of the cars in California in one year. That fire was in the list of 5 biggest fires in state history until it got surpassed by the August Complex Fire the same year. But it remains one of the deadliest, with 15 human deaths. This fire als…

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AoR 124: Jim Gerrish on 50 Years of Grazing Science 1:01:30

1+ y ago1:01:30

1:01:30

Jim Gerrish is in the top 10 names known to ranchers in grazing management. His career, both as a researcher and as a rancher, spans animal nutrition, plant and community physiology, East and West, irrigated and dryland, rhizomatous and caespitose. Our conversation covers all of that as well as livestock industry history, the decline in sheep produ…

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AoR 123: Virtual Fence in Action on Wild, Open Spaces in Idaho--Jay Smith & Joel Yelich 1:05:19

1+ y ago1:05:19

1:05:19

Listen to Jay Smith, a rancher in Idaho, and Joel Yelich, a University of Idaho researcher, describe their experience managing cattle on a 100,000 acre U.S. Forest Service grazing permit that had burned the year before. Jay was able to keep grazing the permit because virtual fence allowed him to keep cattle off the burn footprint without putting up…

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AoR 122: Happy New Year -- What's in Store for AoR? 5:59

1+ y ago5:59

5:59

Are you optimistic about 2024? This brief non-interview provides an overview of upcoming content on The Art of Range and an invitation to become a more active listener. Thanks so much for listening. And I'm optimistic, by the way.By Tip Hudson

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AoR 121: Addie Candib, What are Agricultural Land Trusts For? 1:08:35

1+ y ago1:08:35

1:08:35

Should we keep the farm? Can we afford to keep farming and ranching? How do conservation easements work? How much could an easement help? What do I have to give up? Food production is important (No Farms, No Food, No Future), but it has to pay enough to support a family in order to persist. Addie Candib is American Farmland Trust's Northwest direct…

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AoR 120: Could Virtual Fence Transform Rangeland Grazing? Launchbaugh, deAvila, & Pearson 1:00:45

1+ y ago1:00:45

1:00:45

What if grazed wild, open spaces were actually open? Is barbed wire still useful? Can we afford it? Are there other ways to control livestock distribution today? Would other options be "better"? Fenceless control of livestock has been discussed for decades, and these technologies may mimic herding, which was practiced nearly everywhere, at least on…

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AoR 119: Change on the Range 2024 in Nevada, with Meghan Brown & Dave Voth 46:11

1+ y ago46:11

46:11

Rangelands and people inevitably change. Managing that change involves people influencing people. The Society for Range Management's international annual meeting is the flagship ecological event of the year, bringing together ranchers, researchers, agency land managers, students, and other professionals from all over the world to share information …

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AoR 118: Safe-to-Fail Experimentation & Regenerative Grazing with Graeme Hand & Kevin Muno 1:13:56

1+ y ago1:13:56

1:13:56

Can grazing be used to help ecosystem function or is 'do no harm' the best we can do? What is meant by the new buzzword "regenerative"? Graeme Hand has been teaching and practicing grazing decision-making for a long time and has championed the idea of experimentation at spatial scales at which failing is not fatal to the environment or a livelihood…

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AoR 117: Ranching in the Radical Middle with Rick Knight (Reloaded) 1:34:05

1+ y ago1:34:05

1:34:05

"Beef is what's for dinner; open space is what's for dessert." Rick Knight is a wildlife professor who has spent decades bridging ranchers and environmentalists (whatever that means now). His research has shown that private ranchlands are critical for wildlife and that grazing may be quite important for conservation of habitat values.Transcript and…

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AoR 116: Understanding Nature's Contributions to People, with Anna Clare Monlezun 1:11:03

1+ y ago1:11:03

1:11:03

Anna Clare is a rangeland ecosystem scientist, systems thinker, synthesizer, and collaborative facilitator. This interview continues with one of the major themes of the SRM Ecosystem Services report introduced in episode 111 with Lauren Porensky and Jeff Goodwin -- human dimensions of ecosystems, including sociocultural valuations. The conversation…

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AoR 115: Cattle Raising in The Kimberley, Australia, with James & Barbara Camp 48:22

1+ y ago48:22

48:22

Napier Downs is a million-acre cattle station in the Kimberley region of Northwestern Australia. They export Red Brahman yearlings live to Indonesia, 15-20,000 animals per year, raised in a tropical savanna. We discuss the humanitarian importance of this live export market, the love-hate relationship with fire in this part of the world, land tenure…

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AoR 114: Best of AoR -- Fred Provenza on Animal-Environment Interactions (re-release) 53:48

2y ago53:48

53:48

This is a re-release of one of the first episodes on The Art of Range. Fred Provenza discusses ideas from decades of research and experience on how animals and environment affect each other. Dr. Provenza calls this interaction a dance, which he has written about in his book “Nourishment”. Discussion includes how domestic animals can be selected or …

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AoR 113: Agricultural Financial Benchmarking with Megan Shroyer, AgWest Farm Credit 38:35

2y ago38:35

38:35

How does your agricultural business compare to similar operations in financial performance metrics? That's the question answered by benchmarking. Megan Shroyer is the president of Montana AgWest Farm Credit Services and she offers guidance on how to properly use benchmarking as one element of understanding and managing ranch financial health. Finan…

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AoR 112: Good Grazing Makes Cent$, with Dave Voth 40:32

2y ago40:32

40:32

Is environmentally sound livestock grazing more financially viable than overgrazing or just thoughtless grazing? If so, why? Dave Voth is a rancher in Nevada who helps lead the Society for Range Management's Good Grazing Makes Cent$ Program, an effort to take range science directly to those who make a living on the land. At least in rangeland setti…

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AoR 111: Ecosystem Services--Connecting Nature & People, with Lauren Porensky & Jeff Goodwin 58:27

2y ago58:27

58:27

A new report published by the Society for Range Management, Connecting Nature and People, outlines key ecosystem services provided by rangelands and their benefits to society. Agricultural Research Service scientist Lauren Porensky and Texas A&M Center for Grazinglands and Ranch Management director Jeff Goodwin discuss the report’s origins, framewo…