Life on the Range

is an educational project showcasing real stories about the ever-changing landscape of ranching, multiple-use management, entrepreneurial spirit, family and stewardship on Idaho’s rangelands.

The heart-warming stories provide a rare glimpse of how our neighbors in rural Idaho work every day to improve the earth and touch people’s lives in positive ways.

Brought to you by the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission. If you have a story idea, please email us. Please support this project with your donation today.

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Range Stories by Region

Choose a region to explore and learn about Idaho Rangeland
BOSH Project Restores Sagebrush Sea at a Grand Scale +
Southwest Idaho   | 
Conservation

In the spring of 2023, Bureau of Land Management fire crews burned juniper trees – cut in 2021 – to…

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Carbon Sequestration in Rangelands: An Introduction +
Eastern Idaho   | 
Conservation

Blackfoot rancher Mark Pratt digs a hole in a mountain meadow to check on the soil and look at the…

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Targeted grazing at Sterling WMA +
Eastern Idaho   | 
Cattle

It’s a chilly winter day at the Sterling Wildlife Management Area near Aberdeen, Idaho. Dallin and Chase Carter, and ranch-hand…

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Restoring beaver to Birch Creek +
Southeast Idaho   | 
Conservation

Preston Rancher Jay Wilde had a dream – to restore beavers to Birch Creek. His goal was to make Birch…

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Lemhi Ranchers enhance fish habitat via harmonious 25-year partnership +
Eastern Idaho   | 
Cattle

The Lemhi River meanders for 60 miles through a big valley in this quiet corner of Eastern Idaho before it…

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IDWR issues new permitting guidance on primitive woody structures +
Central Idaho, Eastern Idaho, Southwest Idaho   | 
Conservation

A stream-restoration project on Fish Creek near Carey, including the installation of about 35 woody  structures and 14 beaver dam…

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The Owyhee Initiative – An Idaho Success Story +
Southwest Idaho   | 
Cattle

South of the Treasure Valley, fly like an eagle cross the Snake River, and over the snow-streaked Owyhee Mountains, rising…

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Beaver Dam Analogs catching on in Idaho +
Eastern Idaho, Southwest Idaho   | 
Conservation

Landowners and conservation professionals are excited about a new type of woody structure that mimics beaver dams. The benefits are…

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Wendy Pratt – Grazing to Heal the Earth +
Central Idaho, Eastern Idaho, South Central Idaho, Southeast Idaho, Southwest Idaho   | 
Cattle

My family has been in the ranching business for over a hundred years. I was born on a ranch and…

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Collaboration thrives at Rock Creek Ranch +
Central Idaho   | 
Conservation

Rock Creek Ranch embraces 10,400 acres of land in a series of succulent meadows surrounded by miles upon miles of…

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Tyler family inks conservation easement – Partnering with Lemhi Land Trust to enhance salmon and steelhead habitat +
Central Idaho   | 
Cattle

Tyler family inks $11 million conservation easement on Lemhi River to protect salmon spawning habitat Karl Tyler always wanted to…

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Owyhee County ranchers create wetlands for wildlife – (spotted frogs), livestock and water conservation +
Southwest Idaho   | 
Cattle

Ranchers create ponds, wetlands in Owyhee County in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In the arid West, water…

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Upper Salmon Basin Watershed Program – Enhancing salmon and steelhead habitat on private ranchlands +
Central Idaho   | 
Cattle

Salmon River ranchers restore salmon streams in Upper Salmon Basin to provide homes for fish Jan Phillips and her late…

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SS Cattle Company – Creating fish and wildlife habitat on private lands +
Southwest Idaho   | 
Cattle

SS Cattle Co. creates wildlife habitat on ranch, finds sweet spot for sustainable future Royce and Pam Schwenkfelder run the…

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Pahsimeroi Valley – Restoring streams to benefit salmon and steelhead +
Central Idaho   | 
Conservation

Ranchers restore fish habitat in Pahsimeroi Valley with help from multiple agencies Rancher Jim Martiny remembers his grandmother talking about…

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Reducing juniper for cattle and sage grouse +
Southwest Idaho   | 
Conservation

Juniper tree removal re-opens meadow areas for native plants, sage-grouse, wildlife and cattle Western juniper trees have been steadily encroaching…

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Butch Klaveano – Cooperative land management in heavy recreation area on USFS land +
North Central Idaho   | 
Cattle

Butch Klaveano – A Master of Multiple Use Management Butch Klaveano is a master of managing for multiple use. He…

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Ranching in Bonner’s Ferry – Ranching next to the Kootenai River +
North Idaho   | 
Cattle

Ranching in the Kootenai River Valley is much different than in S. Idaho; plus, all about cattle brands The Kootenai…

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Jared Brackett: Ranching in a Fish Bowl – Improving sage grouse habitat on BLM rangelands on China Mountain +
South Central Idaho   | 
Cattle

Jared Brackett – Ranching in a Fish Bowl Jared Brackett raises black angus cattle in a  very remote area known…

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Adaptive Management benefits sage grouse +
Central Idaho   | 
Conservation

Rancher Tom Page works to improve sage grouse habitat on multiple ranch properties in the Pahsimeroi Valley Each spring, about…

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Lemhi Ranchers: Welcome home Chinook – Enhancing salmon and steelhead habitat on private lands +
Central Idaho   | 
Cattle

Lemhi Ranchers: Welcome home Chinook salmon! Largest Chinook run since 1960 coincides with tour of fish habitat improvement projects Salmon…

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Pole Creek Conservation Success Story +
Central Idaho   | 
Conservation

Finding water for endangered salmon and cattle in the Sawtooth Valley – A conservation success story It’s mid-September, and endangered…

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