Ted Turner’s Ranch: Watching degraded ecosystems bounce back

In 1996, media mogul Ted Turner purchased a 558,000 acres of land on the New Mexico/Colorado border. Previously owned by Pennzoil, the land was badly degraded from overgrazing, forest clearcutting, coal mines, fossil fuel extraction, railroads, and a long-term lack of environmental stewardship. Turner’s goal was to restore the land and its wildlife, while keeping the ranch profitable through livestock and tourism businesses.

The film Preserved explores the history and conservation activities of Vermejo Park Ranch, including preservation of bison, mountain lions, cutthroat trout, and many other species. Lesli Allison, Executive Director of the Western Landowners Alliance, is one of the speakers in the film, and on this podcast we talk about the ranch, its place in the larger ecosystem, and its influence on agriculture and conservation.

TIMELINE
3’46 conservation projects on Vermejo Park Ranch
6’13 land badly degraded, but bounced back through stewardship
7’12 protecting land as an ecosystem and living community rather than species by species
9’43 the field of “sensory ecology”
12’08 learning from mistakes, trial and error
14’54 tried to introduce black footed ferrets but failed
15’50 Bison production at the ranch
18’02 migration of wildlife in the larger landscape
20’45 relationships with neighbors
21’37 the boom-bust model of economics
22’42 the benefits of staying in one place and working on it
24’09 we need economic support for the care of land, not just extraction from it
26’21 habitat leasing rather than reductionist systems like carbon credits
27’51 “land is a living community to which we belong” Aldo Leopold…thinking about ourselves as good for nature
30’57 is it the environment vs industry?
32’53 looking at the system rather than villainizing people
34’55 the problem of inequality
35’21 many landowners inspired by Vermejo Park Ranch
36’54 land conservation for the rest of us
40’14 the limiting factor of time
40’48 what’s happening at Western Landowners Alliance
41’37 the role of private lands in conservation
42’37 taking care of the land needs to be compensated and become part of our economic system
44’03 the importance of stewardship in restoring land…the land doesn’t restore itself
45’41 the next generation of land stewards